History is set to be written on Saturday with the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter at Ataturk Olympic Stadium (don’t miss the action on CBS and Paramount+). Either the Premier League titleholders will win their first ever UCL title or the Nerazzurri will win their fourth which would move them above City’s bitter Manchester rivals United in terms of all-time titles. Pep Guardiola is also chasing history as he could win his third Champions League title but first away from Barcelona with his last success coming in 2011. The Spaniard was close in 2021 when City lost out to Chelsea and will not want to let this opportunity pass him and his players by. Guardiola certainly has fewer concerns coming into this weekend’s clash in Istanbul which could see City complete a treble.
Manchester City
Kyle Walker’s back has been enough of a concern for Guardiola to start without the England international while Stefan Ortega makes way for Ederson after the FA Cup final win. That was the only major expected change for part two of what could be a three-part trophy haul this season with City’s starting XI close to full strength in Istanbul with Nathan Ake in for Walker.
There is no news yet on Ilkay Gundogan’s future and it could be that he leaves City after captaining them in Turkey 10 years on from his UCL agony with Borussia Dortmund. Erling Haaland remains hot on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s heels for the most single-season Champions League goals for an English club with 12 apiece at present. The fact that the Norwegian has never gone three straight games without scoring in the UCL suggests that he is overdue his 13th goal here.
City XI: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan (c), Grealish; Haaland.
Inter
Henrikh Mkhitaryan suffered a thigh injury in the semifinal triumph against Milan but the former Armenia international is only fit enough for a substitute role and does not displace Marcelo Brozovic in the XI. Joaquin Correa, who suffered a calf problem in the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina, was also passed fit to feature as a substitute. He is joined on the bench by Romelu Lukaku with Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko starting up top for Inzaghi.
Federico Dimarco was wrapped in cotton wool ahead of this one and lines up against Walker while Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij might make the bench for what could be the pair’s final time as Inter players. Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Darmian and Francesco Acerbi set to continue in front of Andre Onana — one more shutout for the ex-Cameroon international and he would pull level with Edouard Mendy’s 2021 tally of nine.
Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic (c), Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko.