Manchester City vs Inter Milan (UEFA Champions League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch | OneFootball

The UEFA Champions League returns for another season this week as Manchester City host Inter Milan in the revamped ‘league phase’ of the competition.

Pep Guardiola and his players have been on a stellar run of form during the opening weeks of the new season, failing to drop any points in their first four matches of Premier League action, and showcasing fine form in front of goal.

Much of that has been down to the solo efforts of Erling Haaland, who has started the campaign in outstanding fashion, scoring a remarkable nine goals in his opening four matches for the club in top-flight action.

The Norwegian has also shown off back-to-back hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham United, with Manchester City recording victories in both games to add to wins over Chelsea on the opening weekend and Brentford in their latest challenge.

A first-half brace from the aforementioned goalscoring sensation Haaland rescued all three points for Manchester City in the end, who found themselves 0-1 behind inside the opening 30 seconds after a defensive lapse of concentration led to a free-header for Yoane Wissa.

As for the opponents in European action this week, Inter Milan are also unbeaten in their first four Serie A matches, recording two wins and two draws with their latest coming in a 1-1 leveller against Monza in the Italian top-flight.

With this week’s meeting between Manchester City and Inter Milan immediately bringing back memories of a historic night in Istanbul in June 2023, here is everything you need to know ahead of the encounter at the Etihad Stadium!

Match Details

Manchester City will welcome Inter Milan to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday 18 September on matchday one of the league phase in this season’s UEFA Champions League, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 (UK).

Match Officials

Team News

Pep Guardiola will continue to be without two first-team names for the visit of Inter this week, with Nathan Ake ruled out until at least the next international break having sustained a muscular problem in the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Germany earlier in September.

Oscar Bobb will also be absent from duties this week as the Norwegian forward continues his recovery from surgery undertaken as a result of a leg bone fracture sustained prior to the start of the new Premier League season.

There was also some concern around Savinho following Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Brentford on Saturday, however Pep Guardiola clarified that the Brazilian was only suffering from cramp during the closing stages of the contest.

As for Manchester City’s opponents, reports in Italy on Tuesday suggested that both Federico Dimarco and Marko Arnautovic did not train with the rest of the Inter team prior to travelling to England, and as such will not be available for selection.

Head To Head

Manchester City and Inter Milan have only ever met on one occasion in their respective histories, with that clash coming in the UEFA Champions League final of 2022/23 in Istanbul, Turkey.

No Manchester City fan will need reminding of what happened that evening, although it was Rodri’s second-half goal from outside of the penalty area that claimed the Champions League title for the first time in Manchester City’s history, whilst also completing a historic Treble.

Statistics

Internazionale have won away at four different English teams in the UEFA Champions League (Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool) and could become the fourth team to win at 5+ English teams, after Barcelona (7), Real Madrid (5), and Bayern Munich (5).

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 23 games in the UEFA Champions League (W16, D7).

If Manchester City avoid defeat in their first two games of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, they will equal the longest unbeaten streak by a team in European Cup/UEFA Champions League history (25 games by Manchester United, September 2007 – May 2009).

Internazionale have only lost three of their last 20 UEFA Champions League matches (W11, D6). They have only started one of their last nine campaigns with a win, however, beating Tottenham 2-1 in 2018/19 (D5, L3).

Among managers to oversee 50+ games in the UEFA Champions League, Pep Guardiola has the highest win percentage in the competition (63.7% – 109 wins in 171 games).

How To Watch

Manchester City against Inter Milan will be broadcast live for viewers in the United Kingdom on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

Those in the United States will be able to watch Manchester City’s clash against Inter live on Paramount+ and fuboTV.

You can find full global TV listings for the matchday one encounter in the UEFA Champions League HERE!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!