Preview: Manchester City vs. Inter Milan – prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester City will face Inter Milan in the 2022-23 Champions League final on Saturday night at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. This is the first time the two teams have faced each other in competitive action, with Manchester City coming into the match after earning another two English football trophies in the Premier League and FA Cup, while Inter Milan’s title charge in Serie A was fleeting at best. Manchester City beat Real Madrid 5-1 over two legs in the semi-finals, while Inter Milan earned a 3-0 aggregate triumph over fellow San Siro tenants AC Milan. Manchester City, who have won at least once in each of their last seven Champions League affairs, are the favourites to finally end their Champions League drought. Meanwhile, Inter Milan’s dogged defence has kept 5 clean sheets in 6 Champions League knockout matches, with only Arsenal‘s beaten finalists in 2005-06 recording 6 knockout shut-outs before. The Man City medical team have largely been allowed to put their feet up ahead of Saturday’s final, with a minor concern reported for Kyle Walker, who has since eased concerns about his fitness. The same ten outfield players that began the second-leg demolition of Real Madrid should start, with the only alteration coming in goal, where Stefan Ortega will hand the gloves back over to Ederson. Saturday’s game could be Ilkay Gundogan’s Manchester City goodbye, with the midfielder wearing the armband for the team against Inter Milan 10 years after coming up short in the 2012-13 Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich.