After compatriot West Ham won the Europa Conference League final, Man City emerged in the eyes of fans as the strongest candidate for the Champions League title, the most prestigious trophy in Old Continent football.
The Italian football "phenomenon" flooded the semi-finals of three European cups with 5 representatives and three of them reaching the finals, which was considered a chance for the revival of the football village of the boot-shaped country in Southern Europe.
However, after AS Roma and Fiorentina failed in the Europa League and Conference League respectively, hope became even more fragile for Inter Milan in the final battle of the season.
Inter Milan return to Champions League final after 13 years
It must be admitted that Inter Milan's participation in the Champions League final is truly deserved. The "Nerazzurri" had to compete with Barcelona, Bayern Munich in the group stage and then when they got a little further, they had to "fight" with Porto, Benfica and AC Milan, names that have never been considered easy.
Although the journey was not as thorny as predicted, it is clear that Inter Milan has done what many other teams could not do to return to the European Cup final after 13 years of waiting.
Lautaro Martinez is the biggest hope of the "Nerazzurri"
Finishing 3rd in Serie A, bagging the Italian Cup and now awaiting a match watched by the whole world , Simone Inzaghi's Inter Milan can be considered to have had a very successful season, creating momentum to regain the pinnacle of glory in the Champions League.
Can't stop Haaland from scoring at this moment of strength
Meanwhile, the "Nerazzurri"'s rival, Man City, is facing the opportunity to make history. The destructive form of the blue team from Manchester is displayed on all fronts, helping them conquer two domestic titles, the Premier League and the FA Cup.
In the European arena, "The Citizens" maintained an unbeaten record, successively defeating two former champions Dortmund and Bayern Munich, and paying off last season's "debt" to defending champions Real Madrid after eliminating Europe's number 1 team with a total score of 5-1 in the semi-finals.
Man City are simply too strong for any opponent at the moment.
It must be reiterated that the formidable strength of Pep Guardiola's team is highly appreciated by experts, capable of overshadowing the Champions League final.
Inter Milan's forte is effective counter-attacking play, but Man City have certainly learned their lesson from their defeat to fellow countrymen Chelsea in the final two years ago.
Man City form last 5 matches of the season
In terms of form, if not counting the 0-1 defeat to Brentford in the final match of the Premier League, Man City has been unbeaten in 26 matches in all competitions. The habit of accelerating in the second phase of the season has been repeated by Man City this season, and it is difficult for any force to stop it.
Inter Milan's last 5 matches
In terms of force, not only possessing superstars like De Bruyne or Haaland, Man City also has a team of extremely high-quality reserve players, ready to replace when necessary such as Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva or Riyad Mahrez.
On Inter's side, coach Inzaghi has also made a mark in the playing style, although in the final stages of the season, Inter had many key players injured. All expectations on the attack of the Serie A representative will be placed on the duo Lukaku - Martinez.
Odds on Man City win and draw
Man City often play attacking football in every match, like the way they scored against Man United just 12 seconds after the ball started. Pep Guardiola's students will "press" Inter Milan and will take the lead in the first half. Remember, 16/20 of Man City's recent matches have had at least 1 goal in the first half.
All odds are in favor of Man City
Inter have also scored in 5/6 of their last knockout matches this season. Both Man City and Inter have strikers in good form such as Haaland and Lautaro Martinez, so the possibility of both teams scoring in this match is very high.
9/11 of Inter Milan's recent matches also had goals in the first 45 minutes.
Expected lineup
Man City : Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
Inter Milan: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
Prediction: Man City win 2-1
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