Manchester City defeated 14-time Champions League winners Real Madrid 5 – 1 on aggregate to set up a date with Inter Milan who defeated neighbours AC Milan 3 – 0 on aggregate.
Manchester City are heavy favourites to win the title this year and are on course to completing the treble this season after sealing the Premier League and FA Cup in the last one month. In fact, the bookies and experts have given the English champions a whopping 79% chance of walking out of the Atatürk Olympic Stadium as champions while their opponents have only a 21% chance of winning.
However, with football being a game that is played on grass and Inter Milan having a better historical record in the Champions League, after 90 or 120 minutes, the Italians could well be the ones celebrating in Istanbul. The Coppa Italia win after defeating Fiorentina 2 – 1 in the final, gives them a much-needed boost ahead of probably their most difficult match of the season.
Manchester City vs Inter Milan: Historical Tale
Despite this being the first time these sides are meeting in the UEFA Champions League, there is a lot of history still in this tie. The Italian side have won the Champions League on three occasions (1964, 1965, 2010) in the past while their opponents best over finish was a second-place finish in 2021, where they lost 1 – 0 to Chelsea despite entering the match as favourites.
Furthermore, Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul played host to probably the most iconic UEFA Champions League final of all-time – the 2005 UCL Final. In that match, another English team, Liverpool rallied from a 3 – 0 half-time deficit to win Italian giants AC Milan in one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football.
Manchester City vs Inter Milan: Team News
Pep Guardiola has reported that Kyle Walker has been struggling with a minor issue with his back. However, the England international has quelled fears regarding his fitness and is set to feature in Pep’s starting lineup for the crunch encounter.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan suffered a thigh problem in the second-leg against AC Milan, but has sped up recovery and is expected to feature. Joaquin Correa also picked up a calf problem in the Coppa Italia final and he faces a race against time to be fit for the match.
Manchester City vs Inter Milan: Predicted XIs
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
