Man City DROP Kyle Walker for Champions League final as team news is confirmed
Lineups Man City vs Inter Milan Champions League final CONFIRMED: Kyle Walker is on the BENCH by Pep Guardiola in the FA Cup final’s only change… and Edin Dzeko starts for Romelu Lukaku
Manchester City and Inter Milan have announced their starting line-ups for the Champions League final in Istanbul ahead of kick-off at 8pm.
The Premier League champions are competing in only their second Champions League final, while Inter took the showpiece for the first time since 2010 when they won the competition under Jose Mourinho.
It is the first time the two sides have met in Europe’s premier cup competition and victory would earn City the coveted Treble.
City boss Pep Guardiola has stuck to his well-laid game plan all season, with Erling Haaland starting for himself and Kevin de Bruyne playing at the back.
There were concerns about injuries for Kyle Walker in the week leading up to Saturday night’s Champions League clash and the Englishman will start on the bench as John Stones looks set to fall into defence.
Manchester City and Inter Milan have announced their starting teams for the Champions League final
Man City fullback Kyle Walker is on the bench for the Champions League final
Former Man City striker Edin Dzeko (left) starts up front for Inter Milan in the Champions League final
Meanwhile, Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi will look to break City’s resolve with an attack led by former City striker Edin Dzeko and Argentina’s World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez.
Loaned Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been appointed as a substitute for the Italian giants and will hope for a late introduction.
MAN CITY XI: Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
BANK: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Perrone, Foden, Palmer, Lewis
INTER MILAN XI: Onana, Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic (C), Calhanoglu, Dimarco, Dzeko, Martinez.
Pep Guardiola has designated his Manchester City side for the Champions League final
BANK: Handanovic, Cordaz, Gagliardini, De Vrij, Gosens, Correa, Bellanova, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, D’Ambrosio, Skriniar, Lukaku.
Guardiola later confirmed in his pre-match interview that the omission of Walker was a tactical change and not due to injury.
“He could be there, it was really tough. We need a different type of player for the way we want to defend and attack. The only reason why,’ he said.
There has been chaos in the run-up to the showpiece event, with some supporters from both clubs having to walk up to five miles to the stadium due to road traffic and busy public transport.