Manchester City start their Champions League campaign tonight as they face Italian champions Inter Milan – the side they beat 1-0 to lift their first-ever UCL Trophy in the 2022/23 season.
Pep Guardiola’s side will aim to continue their emphatic start to the Premier League season in which they have won all four matches so far.
Inter have also started the season unbeaten, with two wins and two draws leaving them third in Serie A – suggesting it should be a tough test for City.
Erling Haaland will look to continue his ludicrous goal-scoring form, having netted nine goals in four Premier League games, aiming to score his 100th City goal in just 104 appearances.
Rotation is expected for City with Rodri likely to make his first start of the season having been eased in after an injury in the European Championships Final.
Guardiola will undoubtedly have his eye on Sunday’s clash with Arsenal suggesting Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol could all come back into the team after starting on the bench in City’s 2-1 win over Brentford.
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega may also make his first start of the season having deputised for Ederson in some of City’s Champions League games last season.
Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb remain City’s only injuries giving Guardiola room for changes whilst maintaining a strong starting XI.
Tonight’s game will likely be one of the team’s hardest fixtures in the first stage: in the new format of the competition City will also face PSG, Club Brugge, Juventus, Feyenoord, Sporting CP, Sparta Praha and Slovan Bratislava.
Inter are aiming to be the first side to beat City in 90 minutes in 23 games with Simone Inzaghi’s side hoping to improve on Sunday’s wasteful performance in their 1-1 draw with Monza.
Despite dominating possession, Inter managed only two shots on target from 16 attempts – a performance that would fall short against a City team unlikely to concede so many opportunities.
Yann Sommer will need to continue his exceptional Champions League performances of last season where he saved 25 of the 29 shots on target he saved.
Up front, Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram will look to threaten a City defence that has only kept one clean sheet in four games this season.
Image via Pexels – by Mylo Kaye
