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Manchester City will look to fulfil their dream of winning a continental treble as they take on Inter Milan in the Champions League final tonight. Manchester City have been dominant domestically, winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup and are the favourites heading into the showdown against Inter Milan.
However, the Nerazzurri will be no pushovers. Despite their shortcomings in the 2022-23 Serie A campaign, Inter have done a great job in the Champions League. Their manager Simone Inzaghi is a cup specialist and has won seven out of eight finals he has coached in his professional career.
Tonight's Champions League final promises to be an absolute cracker. When the stakes are this high, it's hard to predict how things are going to unfold. But we'll still take a crack at it.
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Here are five bold predictions for the Manchester City vs Inter Milan final tonight.
#5 Pep Guardiola to drop Riyad Mahrez
In the FA Cup final against Manchester United last weekend, Pep Guardiola fielded the same 10 outfield players that took the pitch in their 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.
Despite Riyad Mahrez's effectiveness down the right wing, he is unlikely to start here. Guardiola will drop Mahrez in favour of a 3-2-4-1 formation with Bernardo Silva starting on the right flank.
Rodri and John Stones will play in defensive midfield while the in-form Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne will work as number 8s. Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland have been City's most dangerous attacking assets this season and their place in the starting XI is more than guaranteed.
#4 Romelu Lukaku to score
After struggling for fitness and form since returning to Inter Milan on loan last summer, Romelu Lukaku has finally hit his stride in recent months. The big Belgian has been a huge difference-maker for Inter Milan and his striking partnership with Lautaro Martinez has been quite effective of late.
In his last nine outings across all competitions for Inter Milan, Lukaku has scored five goals and provided four assists. He is almost certain to have an impact tonight and we think that Lukaku might even score a crucial goal for Inter Milan against Manchester City.
He has the strength to hold off defenders and also the pace to get in behind them. City will hold a high line and Lukaku will be a constant threat tonight.
#3 Erling Haaland to not have any impact
Despite the incredible goalscoring numbers that Erling Haaland has put up, it's not rare for him to go missing in games. By his own admission, Haaland desires to score as many goals as he can whilst taking the least amount of touches possible.
The Norwegian striker has not been in the best form heading into the Champions League final. He was shut out by Manchester United in the FA Cup final last weekend. Haaland has, in fact, scored just one goal in his last seven appearances in all competitions for Manchester City.
We won't be surprised if he fails to have an impact on proceedings tonight.
#2 Game to go to extra time
Both Manchester City and Inter Milan boast strong defences. City have kept seven clean sheets in the Champions League this season while Inter have managed to keep eight. Both teams will find it difficult to break down the other.
As such, we doubt that there are going to be goals galore tonight. There's every chance that these two teams will go neck-to-neck and as such, the match could very well go to extra time and even penalties to find a winner.
#1 Jack Grealish to be the best player in the game
After what was an underwhelming debut campaign at Manchester City, Jack Grealish has truly come to his own in his sophomore season. The Englishman has been one of City's standout players this term and his directness and technical qualities have made him a constant threat down the left wing.
Grealish loves taking defenders on and his exquisite dribbling skills enable him to draw defenders out of their position and leave them stranded. The Englishman is going to have a massive impact tonight and he could be the best player in the Champions League final tonight.
