UCL Final: betBonanza predicts the winner
The stage is set forthe Champions League Final. The biggest prize in Club Football will be up for grabs by two English teams, the battle of the billionaires between Manchester City and Chelsea on Sat. 29th May in Portugal.
So how will the match pan out, who will be the victor and who will be the victim? Let the facts speak!
Chelsea’s got Everything to Play for
Finishing the season with no silverware to show for it will be considered a disaster for the Blues. The success of Chelsea’s season depends on winning a trophy. Though this dream seemed to be fading away as they were first beaten by an Arsenal side everyone expected them to brush aside, then they were also taken down by a Leicester side that was good in their own right, but that most pundits expected them to win. Though Tuchel later said the Tuesday game vs Leicester in the league is more important to him than the FA Cup final, the loss at Wembley was not the confidence booster both the players and the fans wanted.
The Trophy is City’s to Lose
On the other hand Man City, Champions of England, go into this game quite comfortably. With the league cup and the premiership trophy already in the kitty, Pep’s team is pretty solid, looks fitter, better rotated, and of course the Spaniard has won 11 of his last 12 finals. City is well known for their attacking brilliance, but have now added defensive to it. The addition of Ruben Dias to the squad has meant that the team has solidity, with only four goals conceded in their 12 games played so far. If overcoming their quarter-final hoodoo was a boost to their self-belief, the manner of their semi-final triumph against Paris has surely banished any doubts about City’s ability to go all the way.
Pep could Land a Treble
Whatever City do this season, they will be rated by their performance in the champions league, and Pep knows this. He has been resting key players for their remaining league games. Only Chelsea, a team against whom they have already lost to 2 times this season, stand in their way. It could prove to be a tough one.
7 Facts to Consider
- Thomas Tuchel is the first man to take two different clubs to the European Cup final in successive seasons – PSG & Chelsea.
- İlkay Gündoğan is the only City player who has played in the Champions League final (2013). While Thiago Silva was captain of the PSG side that lost in last season’s final.
- Overall, Chelsea have recorded 68 wins against City, who have won 58 of the clubs’ past meetings with 40 draws. Chelsea have been triumphant in three of the last four games between the teams.
- This is the third all-English UEFA Champions League final, Chelsea having been involved in the first, when they lost on penalties to Manchester United in Moscow in 2008. Two years ago, Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.
- City are the first English club to win 11 matches in a European Cup campaign. They are one victory away from equalling Real Madrid’s record of 12, set in the 2001/02 campaign.
- City and Chelsea have both conceded just four goals en route to this final, the lowest total for the two finalists since Barcelona (four goals against) took on Arsenal (two) in the 2006 decider.
- Neither City nor Chelsea have conceded more than once in a UEFA Champions League game in 2020/21.
Possible line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Rúben Dias, Zinchenko; Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Gündoğan; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden
Chelsea: Mendy; Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rüdiger; Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kanté, Chilwell; Havertz, Werner, Mount
Players to watch out for
It seems Algerian striker Riyad Mahrez is now Mr Champions league as he seems to have found his rhythm in the competition. He scored 3 goals against PSG with a pretty solid defence. Betting on Mahrez to Score might not be a gamble at all. It’s pretty likely. The combination of Pulisic, Werner and Mount in the Blues’ attack should concern Pep. Each of them can be clinical and are a threat anytime; especially with the ever lurking Havertz joining the pack. That’s why betBonanza has predicted that Chelsea to Score is 62% likely.
