The Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul is all set to host a UEFA Champions League final after 18 years as Manchester City square up vs Inter Milan.
Manchester City are all set to square up vs Inter Milan in their quest for their maiden UEFA Champions League title. Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri will face Pep Guardiola’s men in search of their fourth premier European title.
It is going to be yet another nail-biting final between two teams who have gone past the best teams from across Europe to have this opportunity to fight for the coveted Champions League title in Istanbul, Turkey.
Pep Guardiola’s men have been a dominant force in the Champions League this season and have not lost a single fixture throughout. They were unbeaten in the group stages and ended up right at the top with four wins and two draws. In the Round of 16, City went past RB Leipzig without much trouble, they won the tie 8-1 over the two legs.
Manchester City then crushed German giants Bayern Munich 4-1 in the quarter-finals to square up against defending champions Real Madrid in the semis. Los Blancos secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw in the first leg but they were thrashed 4-0 in the return fixture.
The English champions will be high on confidence heading into this final after smashing the most dominant force in Europe. They have already secured the FA Cup and the Premier League and could become the second English team to claim the treble if they manage to win the UCL. And, Guardiola will be determined to get it right this time after having lost a Champions League final with Manchester City against Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan have been on a dream run in this season. They were decent in the Serie A as they managed to claim the third spot. But, as far as the UEFA Champions League is concerned, the Nerazzurri have been on fire throughout. Inter finished second in the group stage behind Bayer Munich after winning just three out of the six matches. They might not have topped the group stages but have hardly put a foot wrong post that.
Simone Inzaghi’s men squared up against FC Porto in the Round of 16; they put forward a solid defensive display to go past the Portuguese side 1-0 over two legs. In the quarters, Inter went past Benfica 5-3 over two legs and set up an all-Milan Champions League semi-final after ages.
San Siro played host to a high-voltage two-legged semi-finals that saw Inter come out on top with a 3-0 scoreline. They did the majority of the work in the first fixture itself and closed it out with a solid defensive performance in the second.
Their defensive display against AC Milan will give them confidence heading into this final. With both Manchester City and Inter Milan ready to give it their all, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics they will use.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Kyle Walker might be the only concern for Manchester City heading into this final. The 33-year-old full-back has struggled with his back of late. And there were concerns about his issue in the FA Cup final. But, recent reports suggest he is back to full fitness.
With Walker back fit, City are expected to have a fully-fit squad for the final in Istanbul. They fielded the same ten outfield players against Real Madrid in the second leg and Manchester United in the FA Cup final. Stefan Ortega in goal was the only change.
Let's look back at the highlights of our victory over Real Madrid in the #UCL semi-finals! 💪#ManCity | #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/iwA82ugRBS
— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 9, 2023
Something similar is expected in the Champions League final, where Ederson Moraes will return in goal as Guardiola will start with his newly-crafted 3-2-4-1 formation. Walker will slot in as the right-sided centre-back in the back three along with Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji.
Rodri and John Stones will feature in the double pivot in the centre of the park. Stones can join the defence when they are out of possession. And in general, the quintet will take care of the defensive side of things and will support their five in the attack.
Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish will start out wide as the wingers. The duo will look to stretch the opposition as much as possible and cut inside to their preferred foot at times. Kevin De Bruyne will feature as an attacking midfielder, who will be all over the pitch. He won’t stick to his position and will focus on creating opportunities for their starting striker Erling Haaland.
De Bruyne will have the support of Ilkay Gundogan, who will be the other attacking midfielder. Finally, the top scorer for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League season, Haaland will be leading the line.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland
Inter Milan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who suffered a thigh injury in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, is doubtful for this fixture. Simone Inzaghi will hope that the former Manchester United playmaker is back fit in time to feature in his XI. But, reports suggest that he is winning the battle to be fit in time.
The other injury concern is that of Joaquin Correa, who picked a calf injury in the Coppa Italia final. The 28-year-old is expected to be fit in time and return to the bench for this fixture.
La rotta verso le ✨ volge al termine: definizione di precisione chirurgica per arrivare alla Finale 🐂#ForzaInter #UCL #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/hrlLxr54FS
— Inter (@Inter) June 9, 2023
Inzaghi is expected to go ahead with the 3-5-2 formation where the highly sought-after Andre Onana will be in goal. In what will be his final fixture for Inter Milan, Milan Skriniar is expected to be on the bench, as Inzaghi will field a back three of Matteo Darmian, Francesco Acerbi, and Alessandro Bastoni.
Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco will start out wide as the wing-backs. Dimarco, in particular, has been on fire in the ongoing season, he has contributed a lot to their attack this season and will look to do the same. However, the priority of the duo will be to make sure they help out their defence against a star-studded City attack.
Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nicolo Barella will be the three in the centre of the park. Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan will feature in holding roles, while Barella will look to push further up the field and link up with their strikers. In attack, Romelu Lukaku is once again expected to start on the bench as the Inter manager will go ahead with his tried and tested-duo of Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
Key Stats
- Saturday will be the first ever meeting between Manchester City and Inter Milan. It is the first time the first competitive clash between two sides has been in a UEFA Champions League final since Liverpool faced AC Milan in 2005, also played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
- English and Italian sides have met in four previous European Cup/Champions League finals, with Liverpool always the English team in the final previously. They won the competition on penalties in 1984 vs AS Roma and 2005 vs AC Milan and lost the 1985 and 2007 finals against Juventus and AC Milan, respectively.
- Inter Milan are all set to feature in their 11th major European final. Only Juventus(16) and AC Milan (14) have a better record among Italian clubs.
- Manchester City have only appeared in two previous major European finals, beating Polish side Gprnik Zabrze 2-1 in the 1970 Cup Winners’ Cup final, before losing the 2021 UEFA Champions League final 1-0 to Chelsea..
- have kept eight clean sheets in 12 UEFA Champions League matches this season, including five in six games in the knockout stages. Should they hold their opponents to a shutout here, they would equal the record for most clean sheets in the knockout stages in a single edition of the tournament (six – previously done by Arsenal in 2005/06).
Player to Watch
Lautaro Martinez
All the limelight in this high-voltage final between Inter Milan and Manchester City will be on star striker Erling Haaland, the highest goal scorer in this edition of the tournament. And, everyone will expect him to fire as he will have the support of the creative genius Kevin De Bruyne.
However, 2022 World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez could steal the show in Istanbul. He might have scored just three goals in his 12 outings so far. But the 25-year-old surely has it in him to rise to the big occasion. He will have the support of Edin Dzeko in the final third and might be able to trouble the Manchester City defence that has not been tested as such of late.
Prediction
Manchester City 1-2 Inter Milan
Manchester City have been firing on all cylinders throughout the Champions League season. And, they are red-hot favourites for this fixture after smashing Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg. The Citizens have already won the Premier League and FA Cup. Now, they are pushing for their first UEFA Champions League title to complete a historic treble.
Their entire team has been firing all guns blazing. But they might just come up against something a touch different in this Inter Milan team who will field a 3-5-2 formation. While Pep Guardiola has said that history won’t matter in this final, it might actually help Inter Milan.
They will head into this match with the belief that they can do it and their legacy will drive them. And, despite being underdogs, they might actually pull it off here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Inter Milan.