Man City vs Inter Milan: Manchester City chase their first ever Champions League trophy as they take on Italian giants Inter Milan on Saturday. If they go on to win the title, they will also have written their names in the list of a few clubs that have won the treble. This will be Pep Guardiola’s second treble in his managerial career as well. Considering their form, they have the odds in their favour. Additionally, now that Kyle Walker has cleared injury doubts, they will be travelling to Istanbul with a fully fit squad. Follow UEFA Champions League LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
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The only time Manchester City reached the Champions League final previously was in the 2020-21 season. They lost that match to their fellow English team Chelsea by a narrow 1-0 margin. In the season 2021-22, they reached the semi-finals but lost to Real Madrid. They took revenge this time around when they won 5-1 against the Spanish side in aggregate. Individual brilliance from Kevin de Bruyne and Vinicius Jr ended the first leg in Santiago Bernabeu in a deadlock. Many expected a brilliant comeback from Real Madrid in the second leg.
However, Man City thrashed the Spanish side as they won 4-0. Bernardo Silva scored a brace while both Julian Alvarez and Manuel Akanji managed to get on the scoresheet as well. Since they qualified for the Champions League final, they went on to collect two more trophies. Arsenal dropped out of the Premier League title race having stayed on the top of the league table for most parts of the season. Thus, Man City won the league title for the fifth time in six years.
They collected the FA Cup trophy after winning at Wembley Stadium against their bitter rivals Manchester United. It was captain Ilkay Gundogan who won the match by scoring a brace on the occasion. However, scoring machine Erling Haaland seems to be in a goal drought for quite a few games. He has not scored in both semi-final fixtures. However, he has not gone three consecutive games without scoring a goal in Europe’s top competition. One more goal will take his tally this season in the Champions League to 13 goals.
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Thus, he will break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of most goals for an English team in a single Champions League season. Coach Pep Guardiola will field the striker in the central forward position to lead the attack. Whereas, Ilkay Gundogan might end up leading the team for the last time wearing the captain’s armband. He has not yet renewed his contract and could leave the club this summer transfer window. The coach will have a fully fit squad to field against Inter Milan this weekend.
The only injury scare they had was regarding the right-back Kyle Walker. Coach Guardiola said he was having issues with his back. However, the player himself has cleared the air and said he is fit. Hence, he will be playing on Saturday. The coach will probably field a similar lineup to his previous ones against Real Madrid and against Man United in the FA Cup final. The only difference to the FA Cup’s XI would be the man under the goalposts as Ederson will take back his place.
Manchester City Probable XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
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Editors pick
