UCL 2022

By Subham Mukherjee

Manchester City have been in relentless form throughout the season and a treble is almost in sight for Pep Guardiola's men. After clinching the Premier League trophy and the FA Cup, Manchester City are looking to become the fourth different English side to win the UEFA Champions League, after Manchester United (1999, 2008), Liverpool (2005, 2019) and Chelsea (2012, 2021), which would be the most of any nation. The current total of three is the joint-most, along with Italy (AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan).

Manchester City have appeared in only two previous major European finals, beating Polish side Górnik Zabrze 2-1 in the 1970 Cup Winners’ Cup final, before losing the 2021 UEFA Champions League final 1-0 to fellow English side Chelsea.

Simone Inzaghi's mentality monsters have defied all the odds and reached the grandest stage of European football 13 years after Inter's treble winning season in 2010. Although they will be heading into the game as underdogs, the Nerrazzurri have proved their mettle and made it to Istanbul. Finishing 4th in the Serie A, Inter Milan have secured their Champions League spot for next season much to the relief of the fans.

Internazionale are featuring in their 11th major European final, the third-most of any Italian side behind Juventus (16) and AC Milan (14). It's their first since losing 3-2 in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League final against Sevilla and only their second in the UEFA Champions League, winning 2-0 in 2010 against Bayern Munich under José Mourinho.

Saturday, 10-06-2023, 07:00 PM (GMT)

Sunday, 11-06-2023, 12:30 AM (IST)

Manchester City Form (All Competitions): W-L-D-W-W

Inter Milan Form (All Competitions): W-W-W-L-W

Manchester City: Erling Haaland

The most prolific striker of the season, Haaland has been at the focal point of City's success this season. Haaland uses his body well when playing with his back to goal, protecting the ball effectively as he tries to bring it under control. Given he can use his strength to secure possession when under pressure, he is also effective in providing his team's defenders with some respite following a clearance. Scoring 52 goals across all competitions, he has taken the footballing world away by storm.

Inter Milan: Lautaro Martinez

The captain of the Nerrazzurri and a potential Ballon D’or contender for this season, he has led the team by example. Martinez's style of play is characterized by his agility, quickness, and clinical finishing in front of goal. He is also known for his tireless work rate and ability to press the opposition defenders, making him a valuable asset in the attacking phase as well as the defensive phase. He has 28 goals and 11 assists across all competitions for Inter Milan this season.

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 Roma and 2005 vs Milan and lost the 1985 and 2007 finals against Juventus and AC Milan respectively.

This is the first ever meeting between Manchester City and Internazionale. It's the first time the first competitive meeting between two sides has been in a UEFA Champions League final since Liverpool faced AC Milan in 2005, also played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

Manchester City will have the full squad at their disposal for this important fixture. Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne have been pulling the threads in the midfield and have had ample say throughout the campaign. Manuel Akanji has also been made use of as a make shift left back and he has stood up in his game. John Stones and Rodri will be in the heart of the midfield with the versatile Stones also being able to shift back into the right back position if circumstances demand so.

Inter Milan will be without the experience of Henrikh Mkhitaryan who is most out likely to miss out on a trip to Istanbul with a hamstring injury. Joaquin Correa has been suffering from a calf injury since a long time and it is very unlikely that he will get a run on the pitch in such a crucial fixture. Romelu Lukaku has been loving his life at Inter lately and is a major card fro Inzaghi if things go haywire at some point in the match. Robin Gosens has also been impactful coming off the bench in the recent weeks replacing Dimarco.

Matches – 2

Manchester City– 1

Draws – 0

Inter Milan– 1

Manchester City Predicted lineup (3-2-4-1):

Ederson; K. Walker, R. Dias, M. Akanji; J. Stones, Rodri; B. Silva, K. De Bruyne, I. Gundogan, J. Grealish; E. Haaland

Inter Milan Predicted lineup (3-5-2):

A. Onana; M. Darmian, F. Acerbi, A. Bastoni; D. Dumfries, N. Barella, H. Calhanoglu, M. Brozovic, F. Dimarco; E.Dzeko, L. Martinez

Manchester City have been in scintillating form and they have had a fair share of experiences in the past from where they have learned their mistakes. Although Inter Milan have a pedigree of firing in all cylinders in the grandest stages, we think that this City side under Pep Guardiola will be too much for Inzaghi's men to handle.

Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Inter Milan.

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