Champions League final: Noel Gallagher and Blanco v Chris Sutton in Man City v Inter predictions
- Published
Chris Sutton is in Istanbul for BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of the Champions League final, with build-up starting at 18:30 BST on Saturday. Kick-off is at 20:00 BST.
Two down, one to go - but can Manchester City complete the Treble?
BBC football expert Chris Sutton has picked a score for every Premier League game and FA Cup tie this season, and now he is predicting whether City or Inter Milan will triumph in Istanbul.
For the Champions League final, he is taking on famous City fans and musicians Noel Gallagher and Blanco.
Scroll down to see who they think will win, and make your own prediction here.
Manchester City v Inter Milan (Saturday, 10 June, 20:00 BST)
Chris Sutton: "This is a dangerous game for City. Inter Milan are giants of European football but at this moment in time, Pep Guardiola's side are far superior.
"Everyone expects City to win it but, at the back of Guardiola's mind there must be the thought that they have been in this situation in this competition before - when everyone has expected them to beat lesser teams, and they haven't managed it.
"City's history in the Champions League since Guardiola took charge in 2016 does make you wonder whether they will somehow miss out again, but this could be seventh time lucky for him. It should be."
Noel Gallagher: "We've taken it step by step towards the Treble - but this is it now, it's just about this one game.
"I was looking at the Serie A table when I was wondering what Inter are all about and in Italy, where getting beaten is sacrilege, they have lost 12 times - no-one in their top nine lost more games this season.
"Inter don't draw games, they either win or lose, but they are used to losing, which bodes well for City. Losing that many times and finishing fourth is almost unheard of in the Premier League."
Blanco: "It's going to be so tense, my heart is pounding just thinking about it. We should win but then I just think about what has happened to us in the Champions League before under Pep, and what could go wrong, and I start getting nervous."
Sutton: "You look at Inter in the middle of the park and they have got technicians like Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in there.
"They like to play football under Simone Inzaghi, but will they be brave enough to try it - will they have the legs to compete with City in that central area for 90 minutes, and match their intensity?
"It is a big ask, and there's a strong chance they will get outnumbered in there because City love to get overloads all over the pitch."
Gallagher: "I always saw this as being a much tougher game than playing Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
"The Italian mindset is 'don't lose' and they will be very proud of forgetting their usual style and playing for penalties from the first minute if that's the way they think they can win. They won't care, and their fans and their media won't care either if they get to lift that trophy at the end of it.
"They would be quite happy playing for 120 minutes of parking the bus and, if they do that, it is up to City to come up with the answers of how to break them down."
Blanco: "I just think Inter will try to stay in the game the same way United did at Wembley - but that was only down to their penalty, really, and was such a soft decision.
"Hopefully it will be different on Saturday but you actually seem to see even more penalties given for handball in the Champions League than you do in the Premier League.
"That's my biggest fear; Inter having a shot from distance, it accidently hits someone's arm and the referee points to the spot."
Sutton: "Erling Haaland hasn't been as prolific of late, with only one goal in his past seven appearances, but it's never been the case that City have just been reliant on him.
"Haaland is a goal machine, which is why he has scored 52 this season - but City have goals from other areas, as Bernardo Silva showed when he scored twice in the second leg of their semi-final against Real Madrid - and of course Ilkay Gundogan did the same in the FA Cup final."
Gallagher: "If we play like we did against Real Madrid then there is not a team in the world that can get near us.
"We demolished Real, the same way we played a brilliant Bayern Munich side off the park in both legs of our quarter-final.
"I think Inter will come out all guns blazing for 10 minutes, hoping to get something to hang on to. Then the game will settle down and it will be their defence against our attack.
"If Inter do score first, we are in trouble but I would still believe we will win. We conceded first against Real at the Bernabeu and it didn't bother us.
Blanco: "The dream outcome is another early goal for us, without a dodgy decision to level it out. If we go two ahead, it's game over. I'd feel pretty secure with the way we've been defending.
"I just know Haaland is going to score in the final. It might just be one goal, and it might be a penalty, but there is no way he won't find the net this time."
Sutton: "I don't know how Inter will get the ball up the pitch to hurt City, the same way United struggled to beat their press on Saturday. If Inter do score first then it becomes a tricky tie for Guardiola's side, but if City score early then this could be an absolute pummelling."
Blanco: "I hate predicting City games but I don't care about the scoreline here. The result is all that matters."
Gallagher: "I think it will be a long night but, at the end of it, City will win."
Sutton: "City have been waiting and waiting, and stumbling and stumbling in the Champions League but the way I see it, when they do get over the line, they will win by a country mile. That's how I see this game panning out."
Champions League final prediction | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
When? | Result | Sutton | Noel | Blanco |
SATURDAY, 10 JUNE | ||||
Man City v Inter Milan | x-x | 4-0 | 1-0 | 2-1 |
There is no replay in the Champions League final. If the score is level after 90 minutes, it will be decided by extra time and penalties.
Chris Sutton, Noel Gallagher and Blanco were speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
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