Manchester City-Inter, Inzaghi relaunches Barella: probable formations and TV times

Manchester, 17 September 2024 – Departs tomorrow from Manchester, against City of Guardiola, the Champions League of Inter. Having obtained the second star, the Nerazzurri want to return to being protagonists in Europe, last year bloody elimination at the hands of Atletico Madrid, and the adventure restarts against the citizens in a juicy re-edition of the 2023 final, narrowly lost by Inter. Inzaghi will be without Dimarco, injured, but finds himself in the middle Stretcher e Calhanoglu, kept at rest in Monza, while on the other side Guardiola will focus on his usual scoring streak Haaland. The first mission of the big European teams is to enter the top eight of the single 36-team ranking, which would mean direct access to the round of XNUMX and avoid the play-offs that will involve the teams from ninth to twenty-fourth, but the eight-game journey can keep the games open until the end and every point will count. Starting from the debut which is already a big match as per the idea of ​​this formula, built to contain and close the Super League chapter. City is the favorite to win according to Opta's algorithm, but Inter can also play its cards right to the end and it is a mission Inzaghi avoid a double confrontation in the play-offs which would mean adding two more games to an already very busy schedule. They need to get into the top eight and the debut is certainly not easy against the candidate for success and fresh from four victories in four Premier League games with 11 goals scored and 3 conceded. A sort of perfect machine.

Where to see it on TV

The match between Manchester City and Inter is played Wednesday 18 September in Manchester with kick-off at 21 hours. It will be the first match live exclusively on Amazon, which has secured the rights to the best match of Wednesday. Commentary by Sandro Piccinini and Massimo Ambrosini.

Probable lineups

As mentioned, Inzaghi will be without Dimarco who left Monza injured, so space for Carlos Augusto on the left with the return of Calhanoglu and Barella in the middle, together with Mkhitaryan. Bastoni and Acerbi return to defense, with Pavard completing the department. Ballot on the right between Darmian and Dumfries. Up front Lautaro and Thuram. Guardiola with a sort of 3-2-4-1 with Dias, Akanji and Gvardiol at the back, in the middle of the field Lewis and Rodri, while behind Haaland will be Grealish, De Bruyne, Silva and Doku. Manchester City (3-2-4-1): Ederson, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Lewis, Rodri; Grealish, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Doku; Haaland. Coach Guardiola. Inter (3-5-2): Sommer, Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitarya, Carlos Augusto; Thuram, Lautaro. Coach Inzaghi.

Previous

Only one precedent between Inter and Manchester City and it dates back to the 2023 final when a goal by Rodri in the 68th minute sealed the first historic Champions League for the citizens. In general, Inter have faced 41 precedents against English teams with a record of 16 wins, 5 draws and 20 defeats. Two teams are the most faced by Inter, namely Tottenham and Liverpool with 6 precedents each.

The words of the protagonists

Pre-tactical or sincere words from Pep Guardiola on the eve? Who knows. For sure, the Spanish coach has always spent words of praise for Inter Inzaghi and continued also in view of the match in Manchester that opens the new Champions League: “Inter can win the cup – Pep's comment – ​​They were already a good team in Istanbul and they still are. The same coach has remained, they won in Italy and they are the strongest in Serie A. The 2023 final? I saw it again for the first time yesterday and it was a great evening. Now they are even stronger”. Leading the attack will obviously be Haaland who can reach 50 goals in the Champions League, becoming the fastest in this milestone ahead of Ronaldo: "A fantastic player and he can still improve and grow. His statistics do not surprise me even if it is impressive to see that he has scored 9 goals in 4 games while I have 11 in 11 years". And woe betide anyone who talks to Guardiola of favorites or underdogs on the eve of a match. An all-Italian mantra: “In Italy you are masters at saying that others are favorites – Pep again – I have a lot of respect for what Inter have been doing for several years and it will be a good match, but different from the 2023 final. Not even at the time did I think I was much stronger as they said before the final”. Simone Inzaghi asks for a great performance against one of the best teams in Europe. Games like this prepare themselves: “We are facing a very organized team but we have prepared the game in the best possible way – the words of the Nerazzurri coach – We will have to have pace, aggression and sacrifice to play a great game. We will need a lot of intensity because we are playing in Europe and we will try to play a great game. Monza? We played below the pace, but we were coming from the break and with many players in the national team. Surely against Manchester City we will need a much better performance”. But don't call it a rematch of Istanbul: “No, it's not, it's not a final and there's a new format. Then in finals the episodes count a lot. Now a new page begins”. Yann Summer Instead he can't wait to face Erlinc Haaland: "It's always nice to play against good strikers and good teams, we want to start the Champions League well and I can't wait to play", the Swiss goalkeeper's charge.