The UEFA Champions League officially made a much-anticipated return on Tuesday, and this season's competition is not like the ones that came before it. The switch to the Swiss-system format adds more teams, more games and more days of competition to the schedule, all with the hopes of increasing the competitiveness as early as the league phase, which replaces the group stage. In terms of fixtures alone, Matchday 1 lives up to the billing with a handful of exciting games to kick off the competition. Liverpool's trip to AC Milan saw a Christian Pulisic goal, but Liverpool easily overcame it in a 3-1 win while Kylian Mbappe made his Champions League debut in a Real Madrid shirt ad scored in a 3-1 win over Stuttgart.

English and Italian champions Manchester City and Inter face off on Wednesday, and the Champions League action continues on Thursday with Arsenal traveling to Europa League champions Atalanta and Bundesliga winners Bayer Leverkusen return to the competition with a trip to Feyenoord.

Manchester City are off to a flying start in the Premier League. The four-time defending champions are 4-0-0 and have outscored their opponents, 11-3, along the way. Erling Haaland has been the star of the show with an unprecedented nine goals in City’s first four matches of the campaign. All the talk about the Cityzens being slow starters has shifted to questions about whether this is the best version of Manchester City that we’ve ever seen.

City begin their Champions League campaign with a showdown against Inter Milan — the team the Sky Blues defeated in the 2023 Champions League Final — on Wednesday afternoon. There’s nothing in the numbers that says City doesn’t deserve to be at the top of the Premier League table, but it is fair to say what they’re doing right now is unsustainable. That doesn’t mean they’ll come crashing down to earth, but winning nearly every match by a Haaland hat trick seems like a lot to ask of any team. It’s also noteworthy that City has opened the season with a relatively soft schedule. They had to deal with Chelsea in the opener, but the Blues were in the mix of a wild transfer window and playing under a new manager. Wins over West Ham, Ipswich and Brentford were of the taking-care-of-business variety. It’s likely City will find things a lot more difficult against an Inter team that is quite adept at keeping its shape and playing a structured, responsible style of soccer that is difficult to overwhelm.

Further complicating matters is the fact that City has a monumental match against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. The Gunners have finished runners-up to the Cityzens two years on the spin and appear poised to mount another serious challenge in 2024-’25. Pep Guardiola and his charges will have to keep that contest in the back of their mind as they take on Inter on Wednesday.

Both of these clubs prefer to be on the ball and in control, so this could end up being a pretty sluggish match. Throw in a tough schedule spot for the favorites and you have a strong recipe for a play on the under 2.5 total goals.

Reigning Serie A champion Inter Milan face a tough task in taking on Premier League champion Manchester City in its opening UEFA Champions League fixture at the Etihad Stadium. The two sides last met in the 2022–23 final in İstanbul, when Pep Guardiola's team captured its first-ever Champions League title with a narrow 1–0 victory. Rodri's second-half goal was enough to propel City to glory capping off a treble.

Fast forward well over a year later and the two teams are still among the best in Europe. City is arguably the best side in the world along with Real Madrid while Inter continue to stay sharp under Simone Inzaghi. The Nerazzurri is coming off a 1-1 draw at Monza in which Denzel Dumfries helped salvage a point with a goal in the 88th minute. Dumfries just might've done enough to keep Matteo Darmian out of the starting lineup for the upcoming match given his current form and the fact that Inzaghi will need someone with a bit of pace to match up with the City frontline.

Inzaghi will likely keep the same partnership that worked so well last season with Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez up front and center. The backline and the midfield three is where the most changes will be made after players like Alessandro Bastoni, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolò Barella and Hakan Çalhanoğlu were all rested at the weekend.

Manchester City host Inter Milan in what should be a very exciting UEFA Champions League clash on Wednesday on Paramount+. Man City are continuing their reign of dominance and sit atop the Premier League table four games into the season, but are showing signs of some defensive weakness. They host the defending Serie A champions, who sit third in the league table with a 2-2-0 record to start the season. Stream the match live on Paramount+, which you can now try free for the first seven days and get 50% off your first year when you sign up here (expires 9/23/24)! 

Kickoff from Etihad Stadium in Manchester is set for 3 p.m. ET. The latest Man City vs. Inter Milan odds list the Citizens as the -190 favorites (risk $190 to win $100) on the 90-minute money line, with Inter as the +500 underdogs. A draw is priced at +333 and the over/under for total goals is 2.5. Wednesday's match will be on Paramount+, which is free for the first week, plus you get 50% off your first year when you sign up here (expires 9/23/24).

Paramount+ is the place to watch the Champions League this season. A subscription also gives you access to other sports content including the UEFA Europa League, Serie A, EFL League One, NFL on CBS, Big Ten on CBS and countless movies and shows. You can now get 50% off one year of Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, plus a free 7-day trial. The offer is valid until 9/23/24, so sign up right here.     

Before you bet on Man City vs. Inter Milan or make any other soccer predictions, you must see what soccer bettor Jon “Buckets” Eimer has to say.

Eimer is a high-volume bettor who has vast knowledge of leagues and players across the globe. Since joining SportsLine, he has covered the English Premier League, Serie A, the FA Cup and much more. The Indiana-based handicapper compiled a winning record of 260-133-1 with over 90 units of profit for his community on various platforms over a recent two-month stretch.

Eimer has taken an in-depth look at the Man City vs. Inter Milan match and he has locked in a pair of CONFIDENT best bets while offering a full breakdown of this Champions League matchup! You ABSOLUTELY need to see his picks and analysis before making any selections of your own. Don't forget to stream the match on Paramount+.

So who wins Inter Milan vs. Man City, and where does all the betting value lie? ... Join SportsLine now to see Jon Eimer's picks for Inter Milan vs. Man City, all from the insider who is tuned into leagues all over the world!

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