Chelsea Face Manchester City in Champions League Final on Saturday
Published May 29, 2021 by Florin P
Manchester City and Chelsea will play for the Champions League trophy on Sunday afternoon in a match where the reigning Premier League champions are favorites.
The Europa League final had Villarreal crowned winners on Wednesday, at the end of a match that was rather disappointing. Football fans have much higher expectations from the Champions League final scheduled for Saturday evening. At 8 PM UK time, Manchester City and Chelsea will lock horns in a match that could really go either way. The stakes are particularly high for Manchester City, the team that dominated English football without tasting success in the most important European competition.
An All-English Champions League Final in Porto
Chelsea is not a stranger to Champions League finals played against countrymen, but their win percentage against English opponents isn’t that great. The fact that they once again start as underdogs is only going to make matters worse for the Blues. In recent weeks they have alternated excellent results with disappointing performances in key matches. The most recent defeat against Aston Villa in a match they had to win, while the team from Birmingham lacked motivation is the biggest concern.
Manchester City also took the foot off gas and after a dominant run in the Premier League they lost to Leeds and Brighton. Arguably the most concerning the feeds are the ones at the hands of Chelsea, in back-to-back games. Defeated in both the domestic championship and the FA Cup, they are hoping to return to their winning ways quickly. bet365 Sports trusts them to accomplish this, as reflected by the odds of 9/10, while punters betting on Chelsea will benefit from odds of 7/2 at 888 Sport.
A Historic Moment for Manchester City
Chelsea appears to be the team in better form, but the reigning champions were the more constant squad throughout the season. They are also better at handling key moments and have the better coach in Pep Guardiola. There’s another thing to worry about if you are Chelsea fan and that has to do with two key players missing ahead of this fixture. N’Golo Kante is nursing a thigh injury, while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is unlikely to play after suffering a ribs injury in the match lost against Aston Villa.
There are no such worries for Manchester City, a team that rested all its important players. They are capable of fielding a highly competitive starting formation, with Sergio Aguero likely to spearhead the offensive. After spending a long time on the bench, the Argentinean striker is once again in excellent form and scored twice coming off the bench. The reigning champions are the ones likely to come out firing on all cylinders and exercise constant pressure, which should eventually result in a win.
Disclaimer:
The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Thursday, May 27 at 6 A.M. UK time.
