The conclusion of the European club football season is upon us, as Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan will go head-to-head in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday night.
PSG have been the competition's nearly-men over the past decade and are seeking a first ever title, while Inter are seasoned veterans, hoping to add a fourth Champions League crown to their glittering trophy cabinet at the Allianz Arena.
Match preview
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It may not have been the final some neutrals wanted, but it is one of most fascinating for many years, simply because it is so tough to call which style of play will reign supreme in Bavaria on Saturday night.
Both clubs are well worth their spot in the final, and they have gotten this far by very different means, with PSG's free-flowing, expansive football catching the eye of many, while Inter's stylish and stubborn tactical masterclasses have frustrated both Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
There is so much on the line for both, as PSG are looking to complete the treble and become the first French club ever to do so, while Inter are hoping not to end the season trophyless, after still being in the hunt for the treble just a month ago.
Back in November, it was not beyond the realm of possibility that PSG would have missed out on the knockout stage entirely by finishing outside the top 24 in the league phase, with manager Luis Enrique's job in some jeopardy.
However, the club's transformation in 2025 has been scarcely believable, and they have been far and away the most impressive team in Europe since the turn of the year.
The Parisians won Ligue 1 again at a canter, and swept Reims aside in the Coupe de France final last week, so they are now just one game away from completing the perfect season, and one that their Qatari owners have waited over 14 years for.
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Enrique's men would be wholly deserving of the crown too, after all the noise that has been made about their pedigree at this level, and the letdowns they have suffered in recent years, because they have gone to Anfield and the Emirates and won on their journey through the knockouts, while also showing resilience to hold off Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.
French football has been starved of continental success, because Marseille are the only club previously to have won this competition, but the spooky omen that could work in PSG's favour is that success came in Munich against a club from Milan, as OM beat AC Milan at the Olympic Stadium back in 1993.
In addition to this, on the four occasions the final has been held in Munich, a first-time winner has been crowned, so PSG will be looking to join Nottingham Forest, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea in that list.
PSG were the last French team to win a continental title, but that came in a competition that has been defunct for almost three decades, with that success coming in the 1995-96 Cup Winners' Cup.
The French club lost their only previous Champions League final, behind closed doors in 2020 to Bayern Munich, but the same fate beset Inter in 2023, as they were beaten in Istanbul by Manchester City.
That defeat means on all three occasions Inter have lost a UCL final, it has been against a club that won the treble, something PSG will manage with a win here, however, the Italian giants have plenty of history to fall back on, with three Champions League triumphs already stored away.
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After falling short in Serie A and the Coppa Italia, Simone Inzaghi's men will be desperate to make amends for failing to get over the line in both competitions, as well as the final two years ago.
Talk of the treble was rife following their incredible 7-6 aggregate win over Barca in the semi-finals, but even taking home just the Champions League would mark one of the greatest seasons in the club's history, given how few people fancied them at the start of the season.
Inter have been nowhere near as convincing in the past few months though, only edging past Bayern after winning away from home, losing in Serie A to Bologna and Roma, dropping points fatally to Lazio that cost them the title, as well as crashing out of the Coppa to rivals Milan following a heavy home defeat.
The Nerazzurri are a better team than they were in 2023 when Man City beat them in Istanbul though, and captain Lautaro Martinez has made it clear the squad have been determined to put that result right ever since the defeat.
Inter's strength is that they so often find themselves in control of games, having taken the lead in 11 of their 14 Champions League games this season, while they have only trailed for a combined seven minutes - in injury time versus Bayer Leverkusen in the league phase, and late on against Barcelona in the second leg of their semi-final before Francesco Acerbi's leveller.
Inzaghi's men enter the final as slight underdogs, but they were also unfancied in the markets against Bayern and Barca, so underestimate Inter at your peril.
Team News
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In quite a remarkable turn of events, both teams are set to be a full strength with no injury concerns at all in either camp.
Apart from the banished Presnel Kimpembe, who has barely featured all season and is struggling with a leg injury, Enrique has the entire PSG squad at his disposal, so they could look very similar to the side that faced Arsenal in the semi-finals.
Ousmane Dembele was only a substitute for that second leg, but will start here, so Enrique has a decision to make between selecting Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia likely to be nailed on for a starting berth.
Inter's only two injury doubts have both returned to training this week and should be involved in the squad on Saturday, as Benjamin Pavard and Piotr Zielinski were both pictured with their teammates in high spirits.
Captain Martinez has not played since the second-leg win over Barca, when he played through the pain barrier for 70 minutes, and that rest and recuperation time has meant he will be fit for this one.
Inzaghi rested almost the entire first-choice XI for the trip to Como last Friday, with goalkeeper Yann Sommer, wing-back Federico Dimarco, and playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu the only members from that XI likely to remain in the side here.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Inter Milan (Paris Saint-Germain win on penalties)
This final is one of the toughest to call in many years, and even though PSG are listed as the favourites, a win for Inter would surprise nobody.
Both clubs have been involved in tense, tight encounters throughout the competition, and the final should prove no different, with penalties a real possibility, and PSG's ruthless edge away to Liverpool on spot kicks in the last 16 could give them the slight advantage in that regard.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
