Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany can see the Citizens dropping points in their opening Champions League match at home against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
Since beating rivals Manchester United on penalties to win the Community Shield, Pep Guardiola's side have made the perfect start to the defence of their Premier League title and sit pretty at the summit after winning each of their opening four games in the 2024-25 campaign.
City followed up successes over Chelsea, Ipswich Town and West Ham United with a 2-1 comeback victory over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday, courtesy of two goals from in-form striker Erling Haaland.
The Citizens now have three more home matches in a row to prepare for across three different competitions, with encounters against Arsenal in the Premier League and Watford in the EFL Cup to take place after their first Champions League fixture of the new campaign against Italian giants Inter.
Wednesday's contest represents a repeat of the 2023 Champions League final between Man City and Inter when Rodri scored a decisive second-half goal to secure a narrow 1-0 victory in Istanbul and help the Citizens complete a historic treble that season.
© Imago
Man City in for "really difficult game" versus Inter
While City were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals last season, Inter were knocked out in the last 16, but they won their 20th Serie A title at a canter, collecting an impressive 94 points and finishing a whopping 19 clear of rivals AC Milan in second.
Inter have since made an unbeaten start to the 2024-25 season, picking up eight points from their opening four Serie A matches, although they have dropped points in both of their first two away games versus Genoa and Monza, rescuing a 1-1 draw with the latter on Sunday thanks to an 88th-minute equaliser from Denzel Dumfries.
Nevertheless, Guardiola believes that Inter "have something special" and has heaped praise on the Italian club ahead of Wednesday's contest, as has Rodri who has labelled Simone Inzaghi's side as a 'complete team.'
McInerney is also expecting "a really difficult game" for Man City and would not be too surprised to see Inter pick up a least a point from their travels to the Etihad.
Asked if Inter are genuine contenders to go all the way and win the Champions League this season, McInerney told Sports Mole: "Yeah absolutely. They are now where City [were] a couple of years back, where City had their Champions League failure two years earlier against Chelsea.
'Revenge is on the cards... City could drop points'
"[Inter] are such a wonderfully organised side. They were brilliant against City in the Champions League final. I know we won but that could have gone either way. If [Romelu] Lukaku [had scored] late on, they could have won in extra time. They absolutely would have felt frustrated that day.
"They battered everyone last season in Serie A, they are such a good side. They've got a really, really well-drilled team. They've got experience throughout it. I expect this to be a really difficult game (for Man City).
"I got a feeling this could be game where City maybe drop some points. There's revenge on the card for [Inter] as well (because of the Champions League final loss two years ago).
"It's at our ground, they're going to come and frustrate City - absolutely. I think it's going to be a wonderful game. They're such a good side."
While Man City will understandably be wary of the threats that Inter are likely to pose on Wednesday, they can still be optimistic of success as they boast an exceptional 46-game unbeaten home run across all competitions.
The Citizens have also not lost any of their last 23 Champions League matches and if they avoid defeat in their opening two fixtures of this season's competition (against Inter and Slovan Bratislava on October 1), they will equal the longest unbeaten streak in the competition's history set by rivals Man United (25) between 2007 and 2009.
Oliver Thomas
