MATCH PREVIEW (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL) : MANCHESTER CITY VS CHELSEA 30/5/2021
Treble chasing City face off against Chelsea in club football's biggest game of the season
The biggest game in club football is upon us as City take on Chelsea in the Champions League final tonight. Although both these clubs stand at the same juncture, their journeys have been extremely contrasting.
Starting with City, the CL is a trophy that has eluded manager Pep Guardiola ever since he was appointed manager in 2016. Winning everything else in sight, setting records like the Centurions and garnering achievements like the Domestic Treble, it is at the European stage that he has always faltered. Tonight, he has the chance to redeem himself and crown Manchester City the Champions of Europe for the first time in their history, all within one game.
Chelsea on the other hand wouldn't have expected being anywhere near the final when they sacked manager Frank Lampard halfway through the season and appointed Thomas Tuchel. But Tuchel has worked miracles, implementing his style instantly and squeezing performances from every player he puts out on the pitch. It is astonishing that once mid-table Chelsea find themselves in the top 4 come end of the season as-well-as in the CL final, and that too with misfiring forwards with Timo Werner being the top scorer with just 12 goals.
Now if we talk tactics, then both of these teams are extremely sound technically, love possession based football, high pressing and create a truckload of chances. They even match in weaknesses - goalscoring. While in City's case it is a result of them lacking a traditional forward due to their usage of a False #9, Chelsea on the other hand have unreliable forwards who regularly fail to convert even the most basic chances.
The margins, as one would expect in a final, are razor thin. If I had to predict, whichever team scores first would end up winning. This is purely because the gamestate would shift heavily in the favour of the leading team and with the quality of player and level of tactics that both of these teams possess, that shift is going to be extremely hard to budge.
PREDICTED LINEUPS:
MCI- Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Foden
CHE- Kepa, James, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Werner, Havertz, Ziyech
ARNAV'S PREDICTION : MANCHESTER CITY 2:0 CHELSEA
