Reigning Serie A champion Inter Milan face a tough task in taking on Premier League champion Manchester City in its opening UEFA Champions League fixture at the Etihad Stadium.
The two sides last met in the 2022–23 final in İstanbul, when Pep Guardiola's team captured its first-ever Champions League title with a narrow 1–0 victory. Rodri's second-half goal was enough to propel City to glory capping off a treble.
Fast forward well over a year later and the two teams are still among the best in Europe. City is arguably the best side in the world along with Real Madrid while Inter continue to stay sharp under Simone Inzaghi.
The Nerazzurri is coming off a 1-1 draw at Monza in which Denzel Dumfries helped salvage a point with a goal in the 88th minute. Dumfries just might've done enough to keep Matteo Darmian out of the starting lineup for the upcoming match given his current form and the fact that Inzaghi will need someone with a bit of pace to match up with the City frontline.
Inzaghi will likely keep the same partnership that worked so well last season with Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez up front and center. The backline and the midfield three is where the most changes will be made after players like Alessandro Bastoni, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolò Barella and Hakan Çalhanoğlu were all rested at the weekend.
Inter Milan Predicted Lineup vs. Manchester City (3–5–2)
GK: Yann Sommer - The former Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern Munich shot-stopper faces a tough challenge in keeping Erling Haaland off the scoresheet.
CB: Benjamin Pavard - Pavard played the full 90 minutes vs. Monza, but is likely to start at right center-back given his experience in big matches.
CB: Francesco Acerbi - The 36-year-old returns to the mix in the heart of defense for his fourth start of the season.
CB: Alessandro Bastoni - The cornerstone of Inter's defense should be fully fit after resting up at the weekend.
RWB: Denzel Dumfries - Inzaghi has a tough decision to make at right wing-back. Darmian has a wealth of experience in big games, but started against Monza. Dumfries was a super-sub vs. Monza by rescuing a point and is more capable of limiting the City attack compared to the veteran Darmian.
CM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan - The Armenian international keeps his place in the middle of the park after playing just under an hour at the weekend. His ability to pull the strings from deep will be key if Inter is to get a result.
CM: Hakan Çalhanoğlu - The 30-year-old creative midfielder has been one of Inter's better players in the new season. If Inter come away from the Etihad with a positive result, you can expect Çalhanoğlu to have played his part.
CM: Nicolò Barella - Barella makes a return to the midfield alongside Mkhitaryan and Çalhanoğlu, facing off against the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and İlkay Gündoğan.
LWB: Federico Dimarco - He played the full match vs. Monza and will be tasked with playing another 90 minutes as Inzaghi doesn't have another left wing-back in the squad that has the same quality as Dimarco.
ST: Lautaro Martínez - The Argentinian has yet to score a goal in the new campaign and could look to take advantage of a City defense that conceded inside 30 seconds against Brentford.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Milan Predicted Lineup vs. Manchester City – Champions League.
