Man City vs Inter Prediction, Preview, Lineups and Team News | Champions League, September 18, 2024

Man City vs Inter Preview

Date: Wednesday, September 18.
Kick-off Time: 7 PM GMT
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England

The UEFA Champions League is back in an all-new format. In this new look continental club competition, the group stage is replaced by a new league-like format. Premier League champions Manchester City will kick off their campaign against Inter in a repeat of the 2023 Champions League final.

Manchester City have made an amazing start to their 2024-25 domestic season, winning all of their first four matches in the Premier League. On the other hand, Inter have won two and drawn two out of their initial four fixtures in the Serie A.

The English side have successfully reached the knockout rounds in the last 11 seasons, and the quarter-final or better in all of the last seven seasons. Meanwhile, Inter are making their seventh successive Champions League appearance, although that 2022/23 campaign is the only time they have managed to progress to the last eight or further since 2010/11.

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola’s side have a nearly fully fit squad and Erling Haaland played last weekend despite being offered compassionate leave.

Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake are the players who have been out for quite some time.

Inter Team News

In terms of availability of key players for Inter, Davide Frattesi and Stefan de Vrij both returned from injury against Monza on Sunday so are back in contention to start against City.

Nicolo Barella was also seen back on the bench after his spell on the sidelines, so the Italian midfielder could also get the nod to face City in some capacity, however, Tajon Buchanan remains out.

Man City vs Inter Predicted lineups

Man City Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Ederson

Defenders: Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol

Midfielders: Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku

Forwards: Haaland

Inter Predicted Lineup (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Sommer

Defenders: Pavard, De Vrij, Augusto, Darmian

Midfielders: Frattesi, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco

Forwards: Thuram, Taremi

Man City vs Inter head-to-head

The Champions League final of 2023 was the first meeting between Man City and Inter ever and the Cityzens won that game 1-0 courtesy of Rodri’s goal in the 68th minute in Istanbul.

Key players to watch in Man City vs Inter

Erling Haaland (Man City)

Who else if not the Norwegian beast himself? Erling Haaland has started the 2024-25 season in incredible fashion, scoring nine goals in just the first four Premier League matches of the campaign.

Inter are no doubt strong defensively, but when Haaland is in the mood, no defence can keep up with his devastating strength, pace and positioning. Additionally, his aerial prowess is sure to give a major headache to Inter players.

Haaland knows he will be the target of Inter defenders throughout this game, and when he becomes a target man, he is even more lethal in creating space for his teammates to score if he can’t.

De Vrij (Inter)

If Inter are to get anything out of this game, they need to come up with their best defensive performance this season and that calls for an elite performance from Stefan De Vrij.

The Dutchman is physically adept at dealing with Haaland’s prowess in the air and on the ground, however, could lack when it comes to pace. De Vrij is very direct in his approach and we will see if he means business in the very first skirmish he has with Haaland after kick-off.

If De Vrij manages to keep Haaland quiet, Inter have a major chance of causing an upset.

Man City vs Inter Prediction

This one could also be as close as the Champions League final was the last time these two teams met. Expect both sides to have a good hard go at each other throughout the 90 minutes, but Manchester City just has too much firepower in attack, and that will prove to be the difference between the two sides.

Prediction: Man City 2-1 Inter (Watch Live)

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