5 minutes Manchester City remain on course for a historic treble as they prepare for Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final.
The recently crowned Premier League and FA Cup winners will take on Italian giants, Inter Milan at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul hoping to land the one piece of silverware that continues to elude them. Here at betting.bet we’ll preview Saturday’s huge fixture, providing team news and betting tips as well as the latest odds and free bet offers, courtesy of our betting partners at BetVictor.
Manchester City’s time?
When Pep Guardiola was brought to Manchester in the summer of 2016 the objective was clear; deliver a Champions League trophy to the club. City were eliminated by Monaco in the round of 16 in Guardiola’s debut season before three successive quarter-final losses against Liverpool, Spurs and Lyon. Having overseen three consecutive semi-final defeats whilst in charge of Bayern Munich, questions were starting to be asked about Guardiola’s ability to win Europe’s biggest prize.
Manchester City arguably should’ve won the competition in 2021 but suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the final. Last season was equally disappointing as they lost out to eventual winners, Real Madrid in the semi-final. Manchester City took a 4-3 lead into the second leg at the Bernabeu and looked on course for a second successive Champions League final when Riyad Mahrez put them 1-0 up on 73 minutes. However, Rodrygo scored twice in stoppage time to force extra-time with Karim Benzema scoring the winner five minutes into extra-time.
Road to the final
Manchester City remain unbeaten in this season’s Champions League, thanks in part to their phenomenal home record. Manchester City have not lost a Champions League game at the Etihad Stadium since losing 2-1 to Lyon in the 2018/19 group stage. This season, Manchester City have won all six home matches in the competition, scoring 24 and conceding just two.
City topped Group G ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Copenhagen, taking fourteen points from a possible eighteen. They then overcame German opposition in both the round of 16 and quarter-final having defeated RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich respectively. Their semi-final rematch against Real Madrid provided an emphatic win for Manchester City. After sharing a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 second leg win.
Inter Milan finished second in Group C behind runaway group winners, Bayern Munich. The Italian side edged out Spanish giants, Barcelona who subsequently dropped down into the Europa League.
Inter Milan claimed the scalps of Portuguese sides Porto and Benfica in successive knockout games before winning both legs of their semi-final against fierce rivals, AC Milan.
Domestic form
Inter Milan finished 18 points adrift of champions, Napoli in Serie A with a total of 72 points. In contrast, Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions with their tally of 89 points enough to see them finish five clear of Arsenal in second.
Manchester City lost their final league game of the season with the title already wrapped up. That loss at Brentford was Manchester City’s only defeat in 27 matches across all competitions.
Inter Milan clinched a second successive Coppa Italia win last month as they came from behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1. The Italians have won eleven of their last twelve matches in all competitions.
Betting tips
Manchester City are the overwhelming favourites to win in Istanbul at the weekend and the English Premier League champions look a solid bet at 1/6 to lift the trophy. Whilst they remain unbeaten in this season’s Champions League, all but one of their matches away from the Etihad Stadium have ended in a draw. City to win in extra-time will attract support at 5/1.
However, despite the last three Champions League finals all ending 1-0 and a far from convincing away record in this season’s competition we believe Manchester City could win with ease in Istanbul. Manchester City to be winning at half-time and full-time is excellent value at 11/10.
Inter Milan have scored in eleven successive matches in all competitions whilst Manchester City amassed 150 goals this season. Both teams to score is a sensible bet at 4/5.
Erling Haaland has chipped in with more than a third of Manchester City’s goals this season. The Norwegian international has scored 52 times in his debut season at Manchester City and is set to win the Champions League Golden Boot having scored twelve times already. Haaland should be considered at 4/7 to score at any time. Alternatively, Haaland is 21/10 to open the scoring.
Lautaro Martinez scored just his third goal in this season’s Champions League when he fired the winning goal in the semi-final second leg. The Argentine has been in red-hot form in Serie A, scoring 21 times. World Cup winner, Martinez is 14/5 to score in Saturday’s final.
Incredibly, Ilkay Gundogan has received four yellow cards in this season’s Champions League despite committing a total of just six fouls. Gundogan could be a superb choice at 4/1 to be carded at anytime within the 90 minutes.
Betting odds
Match odds
- Manchester City: 2/5
- Draw: 10/3
- Inter Milan: 6/1
To lift the trophy
- Manchester City: 1/6
- Inter Milan: 7/2
Method of victory
Manchester to win...
- In extra-time: 5/1
- On penalties: 17/1
Inter Milan to win...
- In extra-time: 66/1
- On penalties: 17/1
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