Man City who have won the Premier League and the FA Cup, will be aiming for a historic achievement in the UCL final. Meanwhile, Inter finished third in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia. The Italian side are strong defensively and will rely on counter-attacks, which could trouble Pep Guardiola's side.
2009-10 UCL winner Wesley Sneijder feels the match will go to extra-time after a 1-1 draw. The former Inter star and Dutch legend predicted it would go to penalties. "Manchester City can do the treble, but they can't. It's an incredible feeling to win the Champions League after the league and the cup. My prediction is to go to penalties. It's exciting for everyone, so I think it's 1-1 at full-time. 1, then Inter win on penalties," he said. With Erling Haaland in the role, City currently have the best striker in the world. He won the Norwegian Premier League Golden Boot with 36 goals in 35 matches. Meanwhile, he will also take home the UCL top scorer award, having already scored 12 in 10 matches. He will look to trouble Inter's famous backline with his runs, physicality and technique. As for Inter, they secured their first silverware of the season by beating Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final, while finishing third in Serie A ensured a return to the competition next term.
All eyes will be on whether boss Simone Inzaghi will pick former City striker Edin Dzeko in the line-up or bring in on-loan Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku - while City hope Kyle Walker will return to full fitness. Manchester City hope Kyle Walker will be fit for tonight's Champions League final against Inter Milan. Walker missed training earlier this week but assured reporters he was not a doubt for City's biggest - and final - game of the season. However, he was named in the 23-man traveling squad that arrived in Istanbul on Thursday for the Champions League final, raising hopes that he will be available.
Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva were included in last weekend's FA Cup final win over Manchester United.
Guardiola has already confirmed that Ederson will start the final after back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega started the cup final in a 'cup goalkeeper' role. The team selects itself for me, leaving only the left back up for debate. We know Ederson starts and if Walker is fit, he has proven himself worthy of a start, replacing someone like Manu Akanji or John Stones. Stones will start with Ruben Diaz reprising his hybrid defender-midfielder role. As good as Nathan Eke has been this season, Akanji has more match fitness and offers more reliability on the left than Ake starting a few weeks later. The midfield will include Rodry, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne, with De Bruyne playing well in the semis and Gundogan scoring six goals and assisting two in his last six games. It could be the captain's last game for City, but he can sign off in style if he wants to leave. The biggest choice may be in headache prevention. If Walker is fit I'd drop AK, which is unfortunate given how well he played in the early stages of City's brilliant spring run. Stones, Diaz, and Akanji were all good, though. Inter Milan finished third in the Serie A standings and have performed well so far this season. The Nerazzurri led Torino to a 1-0 win in their previous game and will be hard pressed to achieve a similar result this weekend. Manchester City have already won two trophies this season and have been in great form since the start of the year. The Citizens, who won the FA Cup against Manchester United last week, are likely to complete the treble in this match. Inter Milan finished third in the Serie A standings and have performed well so far this season. The Nerazzurri led Torino to a 1-0 win in their previous game and will be hard pressed to achieve a similar result this weekend.
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