Europe’s biggest club game of the year is finally here as the 2023 UEFA Champions League final gets underway on Saturday, when big favorites Manchester City take on Inter in Istanbul. While Lionel Messi’s spectacular move from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami may have been the center of attention in the run-up, it’s about time the game on the field took center stage again. City are aiming for their first European title in their second final appearance after losing to Chelsea in the 2021 final, while Inter are in the final for the first time since 2010 and aim to win it for the fourth time in this sixth appearance. While City could have been expected to make it this far, few thought Inter had any chance of breaking out of their group and they are in the underdog position which won’t bother them at all.
“It was a dream for us, but we always believed in it. I’m proud to be here,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi before the game. “No one gave us anything, we deserve everything we have achieved. And now the dream of reaching the final has come true. It was an extraordinary journey and winning the semifinals in the derby was a special satisfaction.”
City manager Pep Guardiola knows no UCL final will ever be easy, and playing against an Italian club means playing against a team that always puts defense first, which means the sharpness will be there in attack must.
“When you reach the Champions League final, you have to celebrate. To be honest, a final against an Italian team isn’t always the best gift. Inter is competitive. Thereafter.” [semifinal] There will be many compliments for the win, but we have time to mentally prepare,” said Guardiola. Don’t miss our breakdown of Guardiola’s efforts so far to win his third Champions League title of his career.
And for more from Guardiola, don’t miss his interview with CBS Sports’ Thierry Henry.
To hear more from Henry, don’t miss the UEFA Champions League pre-match show, which airs at 1:30pm ET on CBS and Paramount+. And here’s the rest of everything you need to know:
How to Watch and Odds
- Date: Saturday 10 June | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Ataturk Olympic Stadium – Istanbul, Türkiye
- TV: CBS | Live broadcast: Paramount+
- Opportunities: Man City -225; Draw +350; Inter +575 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Manchester City vs Inter
TV program
12 p.m.: Afternoon Footy – Special UCL Edition (CBS Sports Golazo Network)
1:30 p.m.: UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show (CBS/Paramount+)
3pm: Manchester City vs Inter Milan (CBS/Paramount+)
5:30 p.m.: UEFA Champions League Today post-match show (CBS Sports Network/Paramount+)
6:30 p.m.: The Champions Club (CBS Sports Golazo Network)
team news
Teams are going into this game surprisingly healthy, with the biggest concern being the status of City full-back Kyle Walker. He missed Tuesday’s practice session with a back problem, but put it down to “just getting old”.
From our James Benge:
Kyle Walker has expressed concerns about his injury status ahead of the Champions League final and insisted he is fine after being forced to sit out Manchester City’s training session on Tuesday with a back problem. Walker was substituted in the closing stages of Saturday’s FA Cup final win over Manchester United and City’s hopes of clinching the treble would no doubt be boosted by having the England international at his disposal.
“He had a back injury,” Pep Guardiola said at a press conference on Tuesday. “Yesterday he wasn’t good, today he was a bit better but we didn’t want to take any chances. We’ll see what happens over the next few days.”
Planned XI
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Ruben Dias, Aké; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Grealish; Haaland
Inter Milan: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martínez, Džeko
Final UCL record
City
Record: 0-1
Last Appearance: Chelsea 1, City 0 (2021)
Inter
Record: 3-2
Last appearance: Inter 2, Bayern Munich 0 (2010)
Acting crew
referee
Szymon Marciniak (POL)
assistant referees
– Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
– Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Officer
– Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
VAR
– Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
What you should know about the referee
Marciniak is a well-known official and is widely regarded as one of the best referees of his generation. He’s been making a lot of noise lately, but not always for the best of reasons. He officiated the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France, where he missed three penalties in the game as the South Americans, led by Lionel Messi, won the title on penalties over Kylian Mbappe and co.
In this edition of UCL he receives an average of about 3.86 yellow cards per game and 0.29 red cards per game.
Before the final, he got into trouble after appearing at an event organized by far-right Polish politician Slawomir Mentzen, and apologized by saying he was unaware of his affiliation with the event.
More from Benge:
Szymon Marciniak will retain his role as referee of the Champions League final after apologizing for his appearance at an event in Poland organized by a far-right politician. Marciniak will referee the match between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10 in Istanbul but there have been calls for him to be replaced. The 42-year-old was present at the Everest Business Conference on May 29, an event organized by Slawomir Mentzen, but expressed his “deepest apologies for my involvement and any heartache or harm it may have caused”.
forecast
Guardiola finally makes it in Manchester and leads City to victory in the UCL final by a razor-thin margin while Haaland scores the winning goal. Choose: City 2, Inter 1