Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium is the stage for Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final showdown between Manchester City and Inter Milan.
Man City find themselves in a second Champions League final in three years, having lost the 2020-21 showpiece to Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Saturday. #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/AoXpMhgRkC— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 5, 2023
Saturday. #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/AoXpMhgRkC
By contrast, this is Inter’s sixth European Cup/Champions League final, with their last triumph coming back in 2009-10 under Jose Mourinho.
Man City have enjoyed an unbeaten Champions League campaign up to now, securing seven wins and five draws to reach the final in Istanbul.
After taking 14 points from a possible 18 during the group stage, Pep Guardiola’s men saw off RB Leipzig (8-1), Bayern Munich (4-1) and Real Madrid (5-1) in the knockout phase.
Thanks to last weekend’s FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United, City have lost just one of their previous 27 matches across all competitions, notching 21 wins along the way.
Having scored 31 goals in 12 UCL outings this term – averaging 2.58 goals per game – Man City will be confident of lifting the trophy, especially with Erling Haaland in their ranks.
On the flip side, Inter Milan have registered seven wins, three draws and two losses in the Champions League this season, suffering a couple of defeats to Bayern Munich in the group stage.
The Nerazzurri went on to knock out Porto (1-0) and Benfica (5-3) to reach the semi-finals before crushing arch-rivals AC Milan (3-0) to punch their ticket to the showpiece.
Not only have Inter won each of their last three matches in all competitions, but they have also won 11 of their previous 12.
Heading into the Champions League final in excellent form, the Italian giants will fancy their chances of toppling the serial Premier League winners.
Head-to-head: It is worth noting that Saturday’s clash will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Manchester City and Inter Milan.
That said, the teams played two pre-season friendlies between 2010 and 2011, with both sides claiming 3-0 victories during that period.
Team news: Man City manager Pep Guardiola has an injury-free squad at his disposal. Erling Haaland has scored 52 goals in 52 games this term, including 12 in 10 UCL appearances.
As for Inter Milan, Joaquin Correa (calf), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (hamstring) and Dalbert (ACL) are expected to miss Saturday’s showdown due to injury.
Although Man City head into the final as favourites, Inter will not go down without a fight, meaning we should see a close-fought battle in Istanbul.
Forebet predicts that Manchester City and Inter Milan will serve up a high-scoring draw inside 90 minutes, with extra-time and/or penalties needed to determine the winner.