Man City vs Inter Milan LIVE: Champions League team news and line-ups from Etihad Stadium tonight

There has been one goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, and a trio of defenders, though Fabio Cannavaro was more of a stopper than the German midfielders, Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer, who were converted into sweepers.

But there has never been a defensive midfielder. The Ballon d’Or is almost seven decades old and Rodri, the man who earned Manchester City their first Champions League, could be a history maker in another respect.

A trophy that had seemed the private property of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for a decade and a half may have an unlikely winner. Rodri ranks as second favourite, behind Vinicius Junior, for a prize he never imagined he might secure.

The 28-year-old midfielder spoke about his already heavy workload to argue he is playing too much in light of the fixture schedule increasing with expanisons to the Club World Cup and Champions League.

He said: “From my experience I can tell you that 60-70 [games per season is right]? No. Between 40-50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level, after that you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level.

“This year we can go to 70, maybe 80, I don’t know. It depends how far you go in the competitions. In my humble opinion I think it is too much. I think we have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of this sport or business or whatever you want to call it.

“Not everything is money or marketing, it is also the quality of the show. When I am not tired I perform better and if the people want to see a better football, we need to rest just something to put in there. When the amount of games starts getting bigger, the performance and quality are lower. Lets see where football goes. I would prefer to have less games and a better quality show for the people, that’s for sure.”

Rodri believes that top footballers are close to going on strike because they are overworked as the schedule increases.

Manchester City could play up to 75 games this season with the expansion of the Champions League and the new Club World Cup next summer, while international football could take the possible maximum for someone to 85 matches.

The midfielder urged football’s governing bodies to think of something other than money as he warned that players may not have an alternative but to go on strike.

“I think we are close to that,” he said. “I think it’s the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps [going] this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option.”

The Bayern Munich striker went into Tuesday night’s clash with Dinamo Zagreb needing one goal to equal Rooney’s record for an Englishman of 30 in the competition’s main draw.

Ninety minutes later, the current England captain was three ahead of one of his predecessors having plundered four goals in a 9-2 win at the Allianz Arena, three of them from the penalty spot.

The Manchester City boss spoke about his key striker Erling Haaland saying that he is still evolving and improving despite being one of the best forwards in the world.

Guardiola said: “He can evolve, but if you tell me in the next 100 games he scores another 99 goals, for me, it’s fine. I don’t expect he scores two or three in every game; it’s not a problem if that doesn’t happen, but the difference from last season is he feels good.

“Opponents will find a solution to control the number of goals and we have to find a solution to beat them.

“As many games as he plays at this club, he will improve naturally. I played for 11 years as a professional and I scored 11 goals. This guy [has] scored nine in four [this season]. He can equal me in one game.”

The Inter Milan goalkeeper added: “We must put in an outstanding performance against one of the best teams in Europe. We must try to play a great game.

“A new season has started and we don’t expect gifts from the opponents. We’ll need hard work and a big heart for a big Champions League campaign. It’s our target.”

Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer spoke in his pre-match press conference about facing Manchester City and how he plans to deal with Erling Haaland who has been in unbelievable form so far this season.

Sommer said: “We’ll face an excellent team with a formidable striker, but City are not only Haaland. He receives passes from his team-mates and we have prepared for this game in the best way.

“I am convinced we can do well because we defend well and keep tight spaces.”

After such a grand build-up, the new Champions League’s opening night didn’t exactly suggest new excitement – or much unpredictability at all. Every single one of the pre-match favourites won. At least five of them, and arguably six, did so in a very comfortable manner. Bayern Munich went beyond comfort. They eviscerated Dinamo Zagreb 9-2, a result that should be very damaging for a launch night. It was worse than what came before.

The Champions League itself, of course, has been a powerful engine in creating this disparity. It’s another reason this doesn’t bode well.

Manchester City are in flying form with Erling Haaland in particular looking as hungry and dangerous as ever.

City will want to start the European campaign strongly and buoyed on by their home crowd they will have enough quality to break down a decent Inter Milan side and claim the win.

Man City 2-0 Inter Milan.

Here’s how we see the two teams lining up this evening:

Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Stones, Lewis; Kovocic, Gundogan; Savinho, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland

Inter Milan XI: Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Augusto; Darmian, Frattesi, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

It’s also no surprise that Manchester City are the overwhelming favourites to win this one. Check out the latest odds below: