Man City vs Inter Milan preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Champions League football returns to the Etihad on Wednesday night as two champions clash for supremacy when Premier League champions, Manchester City hosts Serie A champions, Inter Milan in their first clash since the 2023 Champions League final.

The Cityzens have made an imposing start to the season once again. Guardiola’s team has won all four of their Premier League matches, boasting an 11-3 aggregate scoreline, with Erling Haaland netting nine of their goals, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham United.

Haaland’s incredible goal-scoring form continued, as he added his eighth and ninth goals during City’s 2-1 victory over Brentford. His brace made him the first player in Premier League history to score nine goals in the opening four games. Brentford, however, put up a strong fight in the first half, with Yoane Wissa scoring the fastest goal of the season just 22 seconds into the match.

Thomas Frank’s side enjoyed more possession and generated a higher expected goal tally in the first half than Guardiola’s, but Haaland’s clinical finishing before the interval proved decisive, securing City’s 2-1 victory.

Despite their strong start, City has managed just one clean sheet in three games this season. Their defensive errors against West Ham and Brentford could inspire confidence in their upcoming opponents, beginning with Inter on Wednesday night.

Guardiola’s men face several European giants in the newly revamped format. After hosting the Italian champions, they have a relatively comfortable stretch of fixtures against Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Praha, Sporting CP, and Feyenoord. However, matches against Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain present significant challenges, although they will likely feel confident heading into their final group-stage match at home against Club Brugge.

Last season, City’s pursuit of back-to-back Champions League titles came to an end in a dramatic quarter-final clash with Real Madrid. After a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, the Spanish side triumphed 4-3 on penalties at the Etihad, sealing a 4-4 aggregate result.

This season, City will aim to go further, starting their campaign against Inter, the team they beat in the 2023 Champions League final. That victory, the pinnacle of the Club’s 129-year history, completed a historic Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League, sparking emotional celebrations in Turkey.

The win was also symbolic for Pep Guardiola, marking his 300th victory as City manager. Moreover, it made him the first manager in football to achieve the Treble twice, having first accomplished the feat with Barcelona in 2009.

For Simone Inzaghi’s side, although they currently sit in second place in the Serie A standings with just a point behind first-placed Napoli, they have not been entirely flamboyant in their performances.

A Junior Messias’ 95th-minute equaliser snatched a point for Genoa in Inter’s opening Serie A game this season before they rallied back to record a comfortable 2-0 victory over Lecce and a 4-0 thumping of Atalanta.

Denzel Dumfries 88 minutes equaliser for Inter snatched a draw for the Nerazzurri when they were at the brink of losing their first game of the season after Danny Mota scored in the 81s minute to give Monza the lead.

Against City, the Milano-based club will need to be at their sharpest both defensively and offensively to stop a rampaging City side with a 100% record this season.

Man City Vs Inter Milan match details

• Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
• Location: Manchester, England
• Venue: Etihad Stadium
• Kick-off time: 08:00 BST, 07:00 UTC, 09:00 PM
• CEST, 03:00 PM ET, 12:00 PM, PT
• Referee: Glenn Nyberg
• Assistant referees Mahbod Beigi, Andreas Söderkvist
• Fourth official: Adam Ladebäck
• Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel
• UEFA Delegate: Peadar Ryan
• Referee observer: Alexandru Deaconu
• Tickets: Fans can buy through the clubs or via secondary markets like Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

•Both Inter and City are unbeaten so far this season

•The Premier League champions have made it to the knockout stage for the past 11 seasons, reaching at least the quarter-finals in each of the last seven.

•The Italian champions are in their seventh straight Champions League run, though the 2022/23 season is the only time since 2010/11 that they’ve advanced past the last eight.

•The Nerazzurri have only won one of their last five away matches in Serie A

•Erling Haaland’s double against Brentford last weekend means the Norwegian hitman had become the first player to score nine goals in the first four matches in a season in Premier League history.

•City have kept only one clean sheet this season, coming in their opening game of the season against Chelsea.

•Inter have kept two clean sheets so far this season and their run of two consecutive games without conceding was halted in their last Serie A fixture against Monza last weekend.

•City are on a ten-game consecutive winning streak and have scored at least two goals in their last ten competitive matches at the Etihad Stadium.

•Inter are unbeaten in their last five competive matches and have not lost any of their last six away matches

Team news

Pep Guardiola brought Kyle Walker and John Stones back for their first starts of the season following their summer stints with England. They were among four changes from the victory against West Ham, with Ilkay Gundogan earning his first start since his return, and Savinho recovering from injury.

City also saw Rodri make his season debut in the second half and could feature against Inter.

Nathan Ake sustained a hamstring injury during the Netherlands’ UEFA Nations League match against Germany. After undergoing medical examinations in Manchester, it was confirmed that he will remain sidelined until after the October international break.

Oscar Bobb continues to be sidelined due to a leg fracture he sustained just before the start of the Premier League season.

After sitting out the last game before the international break, Savinho returned from injury to feature for most of Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Brentford. However, the Brazilian was substituted in stoppage time, seemingly holding his hamstring, which has raised concerns about his availability for Wednesday’s match.

Inter manager Simone Inzaghi faces a challenge ahead of his team’s trip to the Etihad Stadium. Key player Federico Dimarco is dealing with a strain in his right thigh flexor muscles and is likely to miss the match if he doesn’t recover in time.

The Nerazzurri are currently evaluating the situation and monitoring the progress of the injury affecting the Italy international.

Tajon Buchanan is also facing a spell on the sidelines and he continues to recuperate from injury.

Lautari Martinez was slotted straight into the starting lineup after his involvement in the international break with Argentina.

Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu were not involved in the clash at the Stadio Brianteo but both were on the bench and are expected to feature against City.

Predicted starting lineup

Man City predicted starting lineup.

Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Stones, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Haaland, Doku.

Inter Milan predicted starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Augusto; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Damian; Thuram, Martinez.

Prediction

City will be heading to this game as the most in-form side having won all their four matches so far this season.

Inter on the other hand have not been entirely impressive with two wins and two draws but they currently sit in second place on the Serie A table.

However, the Champions League is a very different atmosphere and the Nerazzurri will savour the chance of taking revenge on the English side that defeated them in the Champions League final.

City on the other hand are experienced in gliding through tough opponents but their defence looks susceptible this season which Inter could capitalise on.

We’re predicting a 1-1 draw.