In The Mixer: Experts pick their Champions League finalists
Sports Journalist at FST, Gareth qualified as a journalist after graduating from university and spent over a decade as a freelance broadcast journalist, commentator and tipster before joining FST. Now living in Manchester, he is a long suffering Bolton Wanderers fan who also enjoys boxing, the NBA, tennis and rugby league.
In The Mixer is FST’s weekly column where we catch up with our team of football betting experts and get their opinion on the hot topic of the week.
The first legs of the Champions League semi-finals take place this week so we asked our team of experts which two teams they think will be contesting the final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul next month.
Four of our seven experts are expecting Manchester City to line up against Inter Milan – which pays out at just under evens – and only one fancies a Real Madrid vs AC Milan showpiece, so we’ll start with the pundits who are expecting upsets.
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Real and Rossoneri have their supporters
Aaron Rogan
Sports journalist at FST
Real Madrid and AC Milan. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola approaches his 10th Champions League semi having been eliminated in six of the last nine. Carlo Ancelotti’s Real keep defying the odds in Europe and the gulf between the two teams seems a little overplayed, especially considering Real’s midfield experience and that they have the stronger keeper of the two sides.
Inter Milan have hit form coming into the semi-finals but they’ve had the easier path to the last four than their bitter rivals. Inter have also been an all or nothing side domestically this season. While they’ve won more league games than AC Milan (20 to 17) they’ve lost four more. In what is set to be a tense two-legged tie with no home advantage, back the Rossoneri to edge it for an Istanbul reunion with Carlo Ancelotti.
Aaron’s bold call of both underdogs reaching the final pays out at 7/1, and you can back his prediction below:
Gareth Freeman
Sports journalist at FST
I’m fully expecting Manchester City to avenge last year’s defeat to Real Madrid and it wouldn’t particularly surprise me if they won both legs comfortably. City wasted so many chances in their double-header with Los Blancos last season but with Erling Haaland in their side they should be far too strong for the holders.
The Milan Derby is far harder to call but I’m leaning towards AC Milan, despite the fact Inter have had the edge in recent head to head meetings. The Rossoneri have been the better of the two sides in Europe this season and after taking out Scudetto winners Napoli in the last round I think they can take out another Italian rival and join City in the final.
Liam Flin
Sports journalist at Racing Post
Manchester City are the team in the ascendancy right now but assuming they will breeze into the Champions League final is massively disrespectful to Real Madrid, who are masters of game management and have been there and done it before.
Defending champions Madrid eased past Chelsea and Liverpool in the last two rounds and I fancy them to make it a hat-trick of knockout wins over Premier League clubs to make the final again. They should also be buoyed by their recent Copa del Rey triumph, having beaten Osasuna in the final.
I actually think the other semi-final is tougher to call but I’ll go with Inter to edge rivals Milan.
Inter have hit form at the right time, stringing together five wins on the spin in all competitions, winning away to Roma last time out, and they won the most recent Milan derby in February.
City and Inter tipped to face off in Turkiye
Henry Hardwicke
Sports journalist at Racing Post
Man City and Inter. City are odds-on to lift the Champions League trophy, even at the semi-final stage and I can’t see how Real Madrid can stop Pep Gurdiola’s side.
Real have a fantastic attacking outlet in Vinicius Junior, but it’s an aged Los Blancos squad and it’s hard to see how they will have enough of the ball to stop the brilliance of Man City.
The Milan derby is likely to be the more competitive of the two last-four clashes, but I’d fancy Inter to edge it. Simone Inzaghi’s men have got past two good sides in Porto and Benfica in the knockout stages and the Rossoneri have won only four of their last 13 matches.
James Milton
Sports journalist at Racing Post
Manchester City and Inter. City will still be scratching their heads over how they managed to lose to Real Madrid in last season’s semi-finals but they should make amends this time around.
They paid the price for sloppiness in front of goal against Real last term, scoring with only one of their ten shots on target in the second leg before the hosts’ dramatic late comeback, but that should not be an issue with the phenomenal Erling Haaland leading the line.
The Milan derby is a tough one to call but Inter can edge it, having snuffed out the threat of a dangerous Benfica side in the quarter-finals and rediscovered their scoring touch with 14 goals in their last four Serie A matches.
Joe Champion
Sports journalist at Racing Post
Manchester City and Inter. City blew a huge chance to beat Real Madrid last season but Pep Guardiola’s men should not make the same mistakes this time around having found top gear at exactly the right time.
Their victory over Bayern was nerveless compared to previous knockout stage performances and the presence of Erling Haaland means that if Real get behind, they might not be able to throw everything at City as they did last year.
There is this mystique surrounding Los Blancos in the Champions League but do not look as strong as their opponents on this occasion.
Inter should join them. The Nerazzurri have hit form at the business end of the season and they have dominated the last two meetings between the teams – one in the Super Cup and one in Serie A.
Rob Eddy
Sports journalist at ICS
Manchester City appear destined to win the Champions League at some point and the arrival of Erling Haaland looks to be the final piece of the jigsaw.
City should have beaten Real last year so they will be extra motivated to make amends, and that was without Haaland. Recent defeats to Real Sociedad and Girona demonstrate Real’s vulnerability and even Chelsea gave them problems in the quarters. City to go through, although it may not be straightforward.
Inter Milan have flattered to deceive on the European stage but have rediscovered their winning form of late, while they hold the edge over AC Milan domestically. Both sides won their respective home clashes in Serie A, although Inter’s was a little more dominant than a 1-0 scoreline suggests. However, the Nerazzurri ran out 3-0 winners in the Super Cup, which could serve as a psychological advantage. They have also won their last five games, which includes wins over Juventus, Lazio and Roma, while keeping five clean sheets along the way. They are peaking at the right time.
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