David Flower
Dailysports's expert
Manchester City
Inter
One of the most anticipated matches of the first round of the revamped UEFA Champions League will take place on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City will host Inter Milan. This clash will be a replay of the 2023 Champions League final! What can we expect from this battle? Here’s a preview and prediction from the Dailysports expert team.
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Manchester City
The "Citizens" made history last season by winning the Premier League for the fourth consecutive time. While repeating this achievement will be incredibly difficult, they are still aiming for European glory. However, in the previous Champions League campaign, City fell short in the quarterfinals, being knocked out by eventual winners, Real Madrid.
In the current Premier League season, Pep Guardiola’s team has started in fine form. They kicked off by defeating Manchester United in the English Super Cup, followed by victories over Chelsea (2-0), Ipswich (4-1), and West Ham (3-1). Heading into this clash against the Italian champions, City secured a comeback win over Brentford last weekend with a 2-1 scoreline.
Inter Milan
Last season, Inter dominated Serie A, winning the league by a margin of 19 points over their closest competitors. During the summer transfer window, the "Nerazzurri" strengthened further by adding Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi to their squad while keeping all key players.
However, the start of the new season has been slightly underwhelming for Inter. In their opening fixture, they were held to a 2-2 draw away at Genoa. They recovered with home victories over Lecce (2-0) and Atalanta (4-0). But last weekend, they dropped points again in a 1-1 draw away to Monza.
Match Facts
- In their three previous meetings, neither team has scored in both halves.
- The "Over 2.5 goals" bet has won in two of their last three matches.
- Both teams have scored in Manchester City's last three matches.
H2H
These teams last met in the 2023 Champions League final, where Manchester City secured a 1-0 victory.
Probable Line-ups
- Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Stones, Walker, Gundogan, Kovacic, Grealish, De Bruyne, Foden, Haaland.
- Inter Milan: Sommer, Pavard, De Vrij, Carlos Augusto, Darmian, Frattesi, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Martinez, Thuram.
Prediction
Bookmakers heavily favor Manchester City to take all three points, offering odds around 1.53 for their win. Our recommended bet is “Total Over 2.5 goals” at odds of 1.71, considering both teams' attacking prowess.
