Man City confirmed starting lineup vs Inter in the 2023 Champions League final

No, there are not two clocks in Pep Guardiola’s hotel room; the tick-tick-tick are the beads of sweat that now outpace the second hand as it swirls round the clock face, pushing the minute and hour hands on as the gap between now and kick-off to the Champions League final gets smaller and smaller.

Manchester City take on Inter in Turkey’s biggest stadium (in terms of capacity, not because of the almighty running track and shallow stands) on Saturday at 9pm local time (3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT) for the biggest prize in European football, and it seems like this time, Pep’s tinkering might actually work.

Pep Guardiola may have found the winning formula

The Catalan coach has been ridiculed, rightly or wrongly, in the past for making one too many changes to his sides in the biggest games of the season, surprising everyone at the last minute and seeing his creations crumble. However, this time, it feels as thought the tinkering process started way earlier in the year and has had time to smooth itself out across the season.

Also, the whole idea of shaking things up dramatically in Pep’s XI is made more difficult as now the side have a fixed number nine - a real-life monster - in Erling Haaland. No false nines, no attacking midfielders at left-back, just a number nine in front of a solid defensive structure. Allardyce, eat your heart out.

And so, with the Pep machine fully oiled and with a great big cannon sticking out of the top, the Catalan looks in a fine place to set about searching for his long-awaited Champions League with City.