Real Madrid and AC Milan have been blown by the wayside courtesy of imperious efforts from Manchester City and Inter Milan, leading to the first meet between these two clubs in the UEFA Champions League Final.
Now, there is a lot of soccer to be played up to the June 10 meet in Istanbul. Both Inter and Manchester City are in the final of their premier domestic cups, and City are yet to secure their league win.
So, what form the two teams will be in come kick-off (15:00 ET) is anyone’s guess right now, and yet, soccer betting experts are already heavily favouring City to claim their first Champions League trophy at -555.
Here’s a very early look at the UEFA Champions League Final, how the two teams square up, and how the oddsmakers see the game panning out.
Two Convincing Semi-Final Displays
To make it to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium meet, Inter Milan had to overcome their oldest foe and co-residents of the San Siro, AC Milan.
In the first leg, even though AC Milan were permitted the glut of possession, they simply couldn’t break down Inter’s 3-5-2 setup, with the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Çalhanoğlu causing problems all evening for the young AC midfield.
Once again, in the second leg, AC Milan held the ball for most of the game, but Inter worked in more shooting angle, eventually leading to Lautaro Martínez’s goal to settle the tie 3-0 on aggregate.
At the Bernabéu, while it wasn’t an overly cagey affair, Manchester City were clearly more concerned with escaping Spain on level terms. Thanks to Kevin De Bruyne’s strike in the 67th minute, the English club did exactly that.
Back at the Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola was determined to hit Los Blancos hard and fast. The Cityzens played superbly, breaking into the final third regularly and with ease.
Thibaut Courtois was heroic from the start, making multiple saves against Erling Haaland, but eventually, his coverage was breached, leading to a quick double from Bernardo Silva down the right and an eventual 4-0 drubbing.
Both teams were imposing in the Semi-Finals, but over the course of the 2022/23 Champions League, Manchester City have clearly been the outstanding team of the tournament.
In terms of goals (31-19), shots per game (16.2-12.8), average possession (61%-45.3%), fouls per game (9.5-12.5), shots against per game (8.3-13.5), and shots on target per game (7.3-4.8), City beat Inter on paper.
That said, Inter Milan thrive as the more defensive team, the team without the ball: more often than not, the better team defensively wins in the big occasions.
In the competition so far, Inter have conceded ten goals to City’s five, but the Italian club had to face Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the Group Stage, losing 2-0 to the German giants in both games.
City, however, have been held to goalless ties by FC Copenhagen and Borussia Dortmund, while RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid managed to keep them to 1-1 score lines.
From Milano…#ForzaInter #UCL #InterMilan pic.twitter.com/FzRk2jsBfZ
— Inter (@Inter) May 16, 2023
Which Team is the UCL Final Favourite?
Manchester City are the UCL Final favourites at -250 to win in 90 minutes and -555 to lift the trophy. This leaves Inter Milan out as the massive underdogs for a prestigious final at +650 in 90 minutes and +375 to win outright.
However, this is only the second time that the English club has ever reached the Champions League Final, and the last time that they made it (2020/21), hefty underdogs Chelsea dominated midfield and ran out as 1-0 winners.
Inter boasts a stout and resolute midfield to support its defensive structure, and while they don’t have an N’Golo Kanté – as Chelsea did – the Nerazzurri know how to stifle top teams.
As such, the live betting online will be worth keeping tabs on just in case Inter steal an early goal or City look incapable of breaking through their well-drilled ranks.
Of course, the last time City made it to the Champions League Final, they deployed a false-nine with De Bruyne starting through the middle, even though Gabriel Jesus and the soon-to-leave Sergio Agüero were in the squad.
Now, they boast one of the most talented and goal-hungry strikers in the world, Haaland. The Norwegian may have been kept off of the scoresheet in the Semi-Finals, but he certainly made an impact.
For all of these reasons, it doesn’t come as a surprise that under 3.5 goals is at -222, with a correct score of 1-0 to City given the shortest odds of +650 in the correct scores market.
Even with City way out in front to lift the trophy and win in 90 minutes, it’s quite telling that on the spread, City -1 only gets odds of +110.
The bookmakers expect a close score, but as we saw against Real Madrid, if City see an opening, they’ll commit everything to pile up the goals – attack is clearly their best form of defence right now.
#UCL FINALISTS! 💙 pic.twitter.com/UzAjYB63xN
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 17, 2023
The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League Final is going to be a fascinating tie. Many expect City to come out firing on all cylinders to blow the Nerazzurri away, but Inter have the right players to soak up pressure, counter, and then hold off even the best of opponents.
This far out, Manchester City are the clear and heavy favourites, even if the odds side with a low-scoring game.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
