As the club football season winds down, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan have the chance to add to their trophy cabinet: the UEFA Champions League.
For the Parisian side they’ve tried and failed since the new owners took over in 2011. Building around stars like Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi but now without any of those three they’ve found themselves with a chance at history.
Inter Milan are making their second Champions League final in three years. They’re a unique squad but as a group they’ve won everything there is to win in Italy. They’ve gone toe-to-toe with treble winning Manchester City, battled Barcelona and Bayern Munich but haven’t been unable to climb to the top since José Mourinho’s iconic treble-winning season.
Both of these sides went on a roller coaster run to make it to Munich. Back when the Champions League kicked off neither of the two were in the top six in the betting favourites.
This will be an interesting matchup in the wide areas. Inters back three will be holding down the fort while their wing backs bomb forward and play a huge role in their attacking game. This could be where they win it or lose it.
PSG play a more traditional four at the back which leaves them with a more balanced defensive/attacking style.
This is how I’m betting on the game,
Whether they win it in normal time, extra-time or penalties, I think PSG will be the one’s tasting the glory.
They were impressive against Arsenal across both semi-final legs. Dembélé is in the midst of a Ballon D’Or worthy season and if they can lift the trophy this weekend, his case becomes more compelling.
You bet he’ll be playing a huge role come Sunday. He scored in the first leg of the semi and assisted in the second. I expect him to be causing Inter’s back three some serious issues.
Inter wouldn’t be in this final if it wasn’t for their keeper Yann Sommer. Elite in goal, Sommer only allowed one goal throughout the eight league-phase matches. He made some huge stops along the way.
Any attacking opportunities that Inter will see will likely come through their Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez and Denzel Dumfries who played a huge role in that iconic semi-final with Barcelona.
Dumfries play out wide should allow Martinez to get some quality looks on target. Even when he’s not getting quality looks, Martinez manages to get a shot away on target.
My last thoughts on the final are that we will see more than two goals. Even in what have felt like tighter affairs we’ve seen at least three bagged. Aside from the first leg semi-final between Arsenal and PSG, there were at least three goals scored in every game once the quarter finals started.
My Bets:
- Paris Saint-Germain to lift the trophy @ $1.60
- Dembélé to score or assist at any time @ $2.10
- Lautaro Martinez 2+ Shots on Target @ $2.65
- Over 2.5 Total Goals @ $1.91