Man City vs Inter: Champions League Final Team News and Prediction

 

Manchester City will look to complete a famous treble on Saturday evening. Standing in their way is an Inter side hoping to win their fourth Champions League trophy and add a third piece of silverware this season. 

 

Ahead of this one, we provide the necessary pre-match information, including where to watch the final, team news and probable XIs. 

 

When is kick off?     

Saturday 10th June 2023, 20:00 KO (GMT) 

Where is the match?       

Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul (Turkey) 

What TV channel is it on?     

BT Sport 1, BT Sport Ultimate and BT Sport App, BT Sport YouTube Channel 

 

Route to the final 

 

Manchester City topped a Champions League group containing Borussia Dortmund, now Europa League winners Sevilla and FC Copenhagen. RB Leipzig awaited City in the last-16, who they drew 1-1 with in the first leg in Germany, before comfortably beating the Bundesliga side at the Etihad 7-0 to win 8-1 on aggregate. German champions Bayern Munich were next up as City maximised home advantage in the first leg, winning 3-0 at the Etihad, before drawing 1-1 at the Allianz Arena to win 4-1 on aggregate. Current holders Real Madrid stood in their way of a place in the final. However, after a positive 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, City thrashed Carlo Ancelotti’s side 4-0 in the second leg, progressing to the final 5-1 on aggregate. 

 

Inter finished their Champions League group behind Bayern Munich, and above Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen. It took just the one goal across the two legs in the last-16 against FC Porto to book their place in the next round, winning 1-0 in the first leg. In the quarter-finals, they took on Portuguese giants Benfica. Inter won 2-0 away from home in the first leg and despite being 3-1 up on the night in the second leg going into the final 10 minutes, the match finished 3-3. Despite Benfica’s late push, it wasn’t enough to stop the Serie A outfit from progressing, winning 5-3 on aggregate. The semi-final was a huge affair with both a place in the final and bragging rights on the line, as they were drawn to face local rivals AC Milan. Even considering the magnitude of the occasion, Simone Inzaghi’s side showed great professionalism to win 3-0 on aggregate to secure their place in the final. 

 

 

Team news 

 

Kyle Walker missed training on Tuesday with a minor injury but should be fine to start. Pep Guardiola is unlikely to change too much from the FA Cup win over Manchester United last weekend. Nathan Ake recently returned from injury and made a late cameo against United, but is unlikely to start here. 

 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been sidelined owing to an injury picked up in the Champions League semi-finals and is a doubt. Joaquin Correa's calf injury suffered in the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina means he too remains a doubt. Milan Skriniar returned to the matchday squad for Inter against Torino on the final day of Serie A action and could well play a part in this game. Mattia Zanotti, Valentin Carboni and Alessandro Fontanarosa, who were all not expected to feature in this game, will likely miss out because of international duty at the U20s World Cup. 

 

Probable XIs 

 

Man City vs Inter: Champions League Final Team News and Prediction

 

Manchester City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland. 

 

Inter (3-5-2): Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Dimarco; Dzeko, Martinez. 

 

Key battle: Ederson vs Andre Onana

 

While many fans will be raving about the attacking prowess and creative flair expected to be on show on Saturday, the men between the sticks will likely play a key role in determining who walks away with the Champions League trophy.

 

Ederson, in a Manchester City side that have the second highest average possession (61%) in the Champions League this season, is often a goalkeeper with less to do than most. However, when called upon to defend his goal, the Brazilian has been on hand to produce, having only conceded four times in the competition, the fewest of any goalkeeper to make at least five appearances this season, while his six clean sheets has included home ties against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola requires players to be good with the ball at their feet and that is no different for Ederson, underlined by his 85.2% pass success rate, which includes 173 accurate short passes, which is so vital to City’s build-up play.

 

Man City vs Inter: Champions League Final Team News and Prediction

 

In the Inter goal will be Andre Onana, who has been one of the top performing goalkeepers in the Champions League this season, making more saves (44) than any other player this season. A save success rate of 80% ranks as one of the best, while his eight clean sheets is more than any other shotstopper. Inter usually play with two forwards, meaning long-balls are key to their gameplan, averaging 32.5 per game, which only three teams including City (32.7) can better. As such, it is no surprise that Onana is the only player in the Champions League this season to have made at least 100 accurate long-balls, and returned a 50.7% long ball success rate, highlighting his importance to the team.

 

City are the most likely to dominate proceedings in Turkey, which will mean Onana will have to be alert throughout, but Ederson will be tested by this clinical Inter frontline. This makes the performances of both shotstoppers the most interesting battle, especially if this game goes this distance.

 

Score prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Inter

Man City vs Inter: Champions League Final Team News and Prediction