The 2023 UEFA Champions League (UCL) final in Istanbul is almost upon us, which will see the English Premier League’s Manchester City take on Serie A’s Inter Milan. Unsurprisingly, City are overwhelming favourites to win their maiden UCL title, with Pep Guardiola’s men garnering an extremely short price of 2/9 when looking at the champions league winner odds.

It’s easy to see why, with the Sky Blues reigning supreme in the Premier League for the seventh time in 12 years, to coincide with an FA Cup triumph over the weekend againsttheir cross-city rivals Manchester United.

If they can get the better of their Italian opponents, City will join Manchester United as the only English clubs to win the ‘Prem’, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.Contrast that level of success with Inter’s, who had a solid but inconsistent season in the Serie A, finishing third and 18 points adrift of eventual title winners Napoli.

That is why there are so many fans and pundits alike who feel a Man City victory is a foregone conclusion. However, write off a team as resilient as Inter at your own risk. While their form domestically hasn’t been otherworldly, the Simone Inzaghi-managed outfit have been exceptional throughout their Champions League run.

After finishing second in their group behind Bayern Munich with three wins, a draw and a loss, Inter kicked off their knockout campaign with a 1-0 victory at home against Porto. They would go on to draw 0-0 with the Portuguese side in the second leg to proceed to the quarter-finals, where they took on Benfica.

The I Nerazurri were strong in their first leg, dominating their opposition in Lisbon 2-0 before securing their spot in the semi-finals with a 3-3 draw at home. That set up a mouthwatering semi-final clash with rivals AC Milan, who were favoured in the betting lines prior to the match-up. Inter made relatively light work of their opposition, winning both games by a combined margin of three goals without conceding any themselves.

In spite of their impressive semi-final display, they are still largely being written off by those perceived to be in the know. But given they are such underdogs, Inzaghi insists his side have nothing to fear despite the mammoth task that is in front of them.

“I’ve always had strong teams at Lazio and Inter and in the decisive finals we have always attacked and defended well. We will do the same against City,” he said.

“Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the world and I will always say that but we have no fear, even though we respect City a lot.

“City have been chasing the Champions League title for many years. Does that give us a psychological edge? We will see.

“It’s a very important game for both clubs.”

Whether or not Inter can get the job done against all the odds remains to be seen, however, with experienced veterans such as Romelu Lukaku, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Edin Dzeko at their disposal, the stage shouldn’t shine too bright for the men in black and blue.