Man City vs. Inter Champions League final team news, projected lineups, starting XIs: Kyle Walker set to play

History is set to be written on Saturday with the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter at Ataturk Olympic Stadium (don't miss the action on CBS and Paramount+). Either the Premier League titleholders will win their first ever UCL title or the Nerazzurri will win their fourth which would move them above City's bitter Manchester rivals United in terms of all-time titles. Pep Guardiola is also chasing history as he could win his third Champions League title but first away from Barcelona with his last success coming in 2011. The Spaniard was close in 2021 when City lost out to Chelsea and will not want to let this opportunity pass him and his players by. Guardiola certainly has fewer concerns coming into this weekend's clash in Istanbul which could see City complete a treble.

With Kyle Walker's back seemingly no longer a concern, Guardiola has less of a headache than might have been the case coming into this one. With the England international, City's starting XI should be at full strength in Istanbul. Stefan Ortega will make way for Ederson between the sticks after the FA Cup final win, but that was the only major change for part two of what could be a three-part trophy haul this season.

There is no news yet on Ilkay Gundogan's future and it could be that he leaves City after captaining them in Turkey 10 years on from his UCL agony with Borussia Dortmund. Erling Haaland remains hot on Ruud van Nistelrooy's heels for the most single-season Champions League goals for an English club with 12 apiece at present. The fact that the Norwegian has never gone three straight games without scoring in the UCL suggests that he is overdue his 13th goal here.

Possible City XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan (c), De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan suffered a thigh injury in the semifinal triumph against Milan but the former Armenia international is expected to be fit enough to play some role here and could displace Marcelo Brozovic in the XI. Joaquin Correa, who suffered a calf problem in the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina, should also be passed fit to at least feature as a substitute. He could be joined on the bench by Romelu Lukaku with Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko expected to start up top for Inzaghi.

Federico Dimarco has been wrapped in cotton wool ahead of this one and should line up against Walker come kick-off. Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij might make the bench for what could be the pair's final time as Inter players with Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Darmian and Francesco Acerbi set to continue in front of Andre Onana. One more shutout for the ex-Cameroon international and he would pull level with Edouard Mendy's 2021 tally of nine.

Possible Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez (c), Dzeko.

Arguably the most influential pregame talking point is Mkhitaryan's fitness as him starting over Brozovic would alter Inter's midfield significantly. The 34-year-old Armenian brings technique, guile and finesse to the team while the 30-year-old Croat is more of an enforcer who could be ideal at disrupting City so that they cannot control the midfield as they did against Bayern Munich and then Real Madrid to great effect. Both bring their advantages and disadvantages, but Brozovic is likely the fitter given Mkhitaryan's recent struggle to recover from his latest injury. Along with the successful utilization of Hakan Calhanoglu, mainly due to his set piece prowess, getting the midfield setup is of utmost importance for Inzaghi's hopes of springing a surprise.

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