The 66th edition of the Champions League/ European Cup will conclude on Saturday, as Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City will take their rivalry to the continental level and battle in the Champions League final in Portugal.
Stadium: Estadio do Dragao (Porto)
Key Statistics
- Manchester City are playing their first-ever final in a European competition.
- They head into this tie with 11 wins from 12 UCL games this season.
- Chelsea have won the competition just once in their history (2012), where they were beaten in the final by Manchester United in 2008.
- The Sky Blues have lost last two game to Chelsea this year. This happened after Thomas Tuchel took over as Chelsea manager. Previously Chelsea won three in a row between 2005 to 2009.
- Chelsea have not conceded more than one goal a game in the UCL this season.
Manchester City
After finally overcoming the semi-final hurdle, Pep Guardiola looks set to win the one trophy that has eluded him for ten years when he faces familiar foes Chelsea.
The former Barcelona manager has finally succeeded where others failed in leading Manchester City to their first-ever Champions League final.
They face familiar enemies Chelsea who have inflicted two defeats on them recently. This time They will be hoping that they will be lucky in their third attempt against the Blues this year when they square up at a neutral venue.
However, their form in the last four games has been a cause of concern as they have lost two in that period. They did win their last game against Everton in an emphatic fashion to dispel every doubt of complacency and show that they are ready for this match.
This match will be Sergio Aguero‘s last game in a Manchester City shirt with the Argentine striker expected to sign for Barcelona in the coming days. It will be interesting to watch if he is rewarded with a place in the starting XI after his two goals heroics in their game against Everton.
Possible line-ups
Ederson; Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Zinchenko; Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan; Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez.
We fought together and we’re in the final of the Champions League, and those are nice words. People believe it’s easy to get to the final of the Champions League. Getting to the final now makes sense of what we have done in the past four or five years. Every day these guys have been consistent and this is remarkable.
Pep Guardiola, Man City manager
Chelsea
Chelsea beat Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate to book a place in Porto alongside Manchester City.
They are playing just their third European final in history and will be looking to bring home the trophy for the second time.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel is also playing just his second European final and will be looking to win it this time after missing out on the trophy last season with PSG.
With Champions League football secured for the Blues for next season following a dramatic end to the season that saw them finish in fourth place, they will head into this game with less pressure and with more freedom to express themselves.
With two wins in their last two games against City, they head into this match with a psychological advantage over their rivals.
However, they must be careful of complacency as they look to make it three wins in three games against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Goalkeeper Eduoard Mendy and midfielder N’Golo Kante are both expected to be fit for this tie after the pair were passed fit to travel with the squad.
Possible line-ups
Edouard Mendy; Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Christensen; Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner
As a child, you dream of these matches and it’s like watching the moon – it’s so, so far away. Once you’re in it, you’re just in it. I don’t hesitate to say that Man. City and Bayern have been the benchmark in Europe this season and last season. We are trying to close the gap and the good thing is, in football, you can close gaps in 90 minutes.
Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea manager
Betting Odds
Manchester City : Draw : Chelsea :: 1.90 : 3.40 : 4.33
Man City Goal | Chelsea Goal | Betting Odds |
1 | 0 | 6.00 |
1 | 1 | 6.50 |
0 | 0 | 8.00 |
2 | 0 | 8.00 |
2 | 1 | 9.00 |
0 | 1 | 10.00 |
Prediction
Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea