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Man City v Inter Milan
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Kick Off: Wednesday 18th September at 20:00
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Competition: Champions League
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Watch Live: TNT Sports 1
Manchester City host Inter Milan in their Champions League opener in a match featuring two of Europe’s finest sides, both of whom will hope to make deep inroads into the competition.
Man City in particular are unlikely to settle for any less than the trophy, having fallen well short last season. It goes without saying that they have the quality for it, but rotation may well play a part in this fixture given their huge title clash with Arsenal shortly follows.
It’s the same story for Inter who have the Milan derby just around the corner, but given their rival’s start to the season, it’d be a surprise if they don’t claim all three points. Their summer transfer window was primarily oriented around depth which will certainly come in handy, even this early on in the season given the new Champions League format.
Man City go into this match as favourites and while that’s probably justified, they’ve been priced as short as ½ which surely underestimates Inter’s probability of success.
Man City v Inter Milan Best Bets
There are a few selections that merit intrigue in this clash but one recurring theme is the possibility of a low-scoring affair. In their last Serie A campaign, Inter conceded more than one goal on just five occasions, letting in a total of 22 goals overall, making them the best defence in Europe. Only two of Man City’s matches have surpassed the three-goal threshold this season, making Under 3.5 goals @ 1.44 an attractive proposition. If you want to go one further, Under 2.5 goals @ 2.2 could also represent some good value.
Inter themselves may have been done an injustice by the bookies who’ve priced City as short as 1.5 to take all three points. Backing a Double Chance: Inter and Draw @ 2.5 is an interesting prospect to say the least, particularly given the challenge they mounted last time the sides met. Amongst the individual lines, the shots market stands out as presenting the most value. Kevin De Bruyne to take 2+ shots @ 1.3 comes across as generous given his 3.53 average this season and 3.23 last season. Barella to take 1+ shot @ 1.57 is also an attractive proposition with the Italian firing off at least one in each of his three games, averaging 1.49 per 90 across the period.
📂 Man City v Inter Milan Cheat Sheet
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The Champions League is well and truly back for the 24/25 season and our signature football betting predictions are back too. Make sure to check out our Champions League acca and Champions League Bet Builder Tips to help you back a winner for the first week of the Champions League.
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If you enjoy this betting preview, be sure to check out our bet builder stats tool, the best freely available data source for punting on football, available for all Champions League fixtures this week.
📊 Man City Form and Stats
It’s been a perfect start for Man City this season who have predictably won each of their first four league games. Although they did hold on and ultimately deserved the win, their most recent clash with Brentford was surely the least reassuring and suggested there are definitely defensive weaknesses for Milan to exploit.
At the other end, Haaland will be looking to extend his obscene goalscoring run, consisting of nine goals in his first four games. He’s scored almost double the number of goals his xG would suggest and looks back to his clinical ways, having recorded his first season-wide xG underperformance last season.
Looking more specifically at the UCL, City’s last campaign may have fallen slightly below expectations, making it as far as the Quarter Finals where they drew both legs against Real Madrid before eventually losing on penalties. Previous to the tricky clash against the Spanish giants, City took all eighteen points from their group which also consisted of RB Leipzig, Young Boys, and Red Star Belgrade, and thrashed FC Copenhagen 6-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.
The season before, City went on to win the Champions League, triumphing against Inter themselves in the final. En route, they recorded hugely impressive results during the knockout stages, including thrashing Real Madrid 4-0, Bayern 3-0 and RB Leipzig 7-0, all at the Etihad where this fixture will be played.
Nathan Aké and Oscar Bobb are both out for Man City but other than the two defenders, they should have a full squad available.
📊 Inter Milan Form and Stats
Inter’s 8 points doesn’t flatter them, and it looked like they were recovering from their opening-day draw with Genoa until last Sunday when they failed to take three points home from Monza, drawing 1-1 despite only conceding 0.22xG. Nonetheless, they’re playing with confidence and have established themselves as firm Serie A favourites.
Given how their league campaign went, Inter fans were less than impressed with their Champions League showing last season. They narrowly missed out on top position to Real Sociedad in the group stage, before immediately losing on penalties to Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16.
The previous season, two wins against Viktoria Plzeň in addition to the four points they took from Barcelona in the group was enough to ensure progression to the knockouts in second place behind Bayern Munich who won all six of their games. The Nerazzurri received a fortunate draw from there, beating Porto, Benfica and Milan on their way to Istanbul but couldn’t find the all-important goal in the final despite playing well.
Availability-wise, Inter have an almost full squad bar Tajon Buchanan and Federico Dimarco who sustained a muscular injury against Monza.
⚔️ Man City v Inter Milan Head-to-Head
As soon as the Champions League draw was released, this match stood out as one to watch. It’s just the second competitive showing involving these sides, the last of course being the 22/23 Champions League final which City won 1-0.
It probably isn’t controversial to suggest that the result flattered The Cityzens who benefitted from one of the worst individual performances of all time as Lukaku missed sitter after sitter and even acted as City’s last line of defence towards the end of the match, blocking an almost certain Dimarco goal. The game finished with Man City securing the treble despite The Nerazzurri having accumulated over double their xG on the day.
This was actually the only competitive clash between these sides so there’s not a whole lot else to go off here but if one thing’s for certain it’s this: Inter will not be swept away as the odds suggest they will be now, and suggested they would be last time out. We should be in for a cracking affair and City will have to be on their A-game if they want to take all three points, even at home.
Football Predictions at Andy’s Bet Club
Everyone should take their time to find their own approach, but our guide on how to use a Cheat Sheet is a great place to start if you’re unsure how to make the most of them.
We aim to help all our readers bet smarter, and our guides to the best betting sites for accumulators and the top bet builder sites, along with our collections of Champions League free bet and sign up offers, free bet offers and weekly free bet clubs, are perfect starting points to ensure your money goes further when betting with the best UK sports betting sites.
Our experts have also put together helpful guides, such as this one on xG in football, all aimed at giving you the skills and knowledge to level up your punting game.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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