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The UEFA Champions League has reached its final stage, as Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan will face off at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. While PSG are the French champions, Inter fell short on the final matchday and saw Napoli secure the Serie A crown by a single point. Simone Inzaghi and his squad will be hungry to secure a major trophy, especially after falling short in the UCL Final in 2022-23 to Manchester City 1-0. However, PSG has played like the best team in Europe for long periods this year, so the Italians won’t be able to roll over Luis Enrique’s men.
Let’s dive into my favorite Champions League picks for tomorrow’s final and explain why I expect a competitive affair.
PSG has looked like one of the best teams in Europe the past few months, but that wasn’t the case at the start of the season. The Parisians won their opening UCL game in the League phase 1-0 against Girona, but they then lost three and drew one match, carrying a 1-1-3 record entering Matchday Six. On the brink of elimination, PSG beat RB Salzburg, Manchester City and Stuttgart by a combined 11-3 scoreline, entering the Knockout phase in red-hot form at the 15th-placed squad.
In the Knockout phase playoffs, PSG beat Brest 10:0 over two legs before upsetting the UCL favorites, Liverpool. After falling behind 1:0 at home, they showed fight by taking down the Reds 1-0 at Anfield before securing the victory 4:1 in penalty kicks. In the quarterfinals, the French champions eliminated Aston Villa 5:4 over two legs before taking down their third English club of the competition, Arsenal. Luis Enrique’s side won 1:0 at the Emirates and doubled their advantage with a 2:1 victory at the Parc des Princes.
Ousmane Dembélé has been the main man for PSG, as the French forward has 8 goals and 4 assists in 12 starts. However, Gonçalo Ramos, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes all have 3+ goals in the Champions League, showing how PSG can hit teams from multiple angles. It will be interesting to see how Luis Enrique sets up against Inter, but I expect a 4-3-3 formation with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé and Doué up front. Any of those three forwards can contribute, and I expect PSG to find the back of the net at least once against Inter.
Inter Milan had a much different start to the Champions League, as the Italian side went 6-1-1 in the League phase, only dropping points on the road against Manchester City (0:0) and Bayer Leverkusen (0:1). Additionally, their path to the final was slightly different after finishing in 4th place entering the knockout stage. This finish gave Inter a direct path to the Round of 16, where they dispatched Feyernoord 4:1 over two legs before upsetting the German champions, Bayern Munich, 4:3 in two games. They then shocked the competition by defeating FC Barcelona 7:6 in the semifinals. Although Inter had a higher seed than PSG, their path to the final was equally as difficult.
Lautaro Martínez has been the main man for Inter, as the Argentinian forward has 9 goals in 9 Champions League starts. However, Marcus Thuram and Hakan Çalhanoğlu have 4 goals apiece, and Denzel Dumfries (2 goals and 3 assists) has proven how dangerous he can be in attack after recording all five of his contributions over two legs against Barcelona. Unlike PSG, Inzaghi will likely elect for a 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 formation in the final. Expect Thuram and Martínez to lead Inter up top, and I wouldn’t be surprised if either player contributes against the French champions.
When looking at this game, I expect Inter to take a defensive approach, as they did against Bayern Munich and Barcelona. However, this doesn’t mean they won’t be dangerous on the counterattack. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Italians get an early goal, which would increase the number of attacking opportunities for PSG because Inter will be protecting their league. One player extremely talented at breaking down a low-block defense is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian had 7 shots in PSG’s last game and has 3+ shots in five of PSG’s last six Champions League matches.
Although I expect Kvaratskhelia to record 3+ shots, I’m not convinced Bradley Barcola will have as many opportunities. He may not even start, but if he does, I can’t see him recording 3+ shots. Barcola has 1 shot or less in five straight UCL games and has recorded fewer than 3 shots in eight of his last 10 starts. I expect more of the same from the French international and will back him to record fewer than 2.5 shots against Inter.
Luke Lindholm is an avid basketball, baseball, football, hockey and soccer fan who specializes in writing promotional content for multiple sportsbooks and prediction-based articles across a variety of sports. His work has been featured on prominent websites including Sports Illustrated, Pickswise, Men’s Journal, TheStreet, Athlon Sports and more. He started as a college football handicapper for Pickswise in 2016 and is a current member of the Pickswise NFL handicapping team.