An in-depth dive into the UCL final between Chelsea and Man City

Blue is the theme of this year’s Champions League final as Chelsea and Manchester City face off in Porto’s Estadio do Dragao to determine the winner of European football’s ultimate prize. Manchester City is seeking its first Champions League crown and Pep Guardiola is seeking his first Champions League trophy since the 2010/11 season. Thomas Tuchel, on the other hand, is seeking to crown his short Chelsea tenure with a Champions League trophy, which will most definitely elevate him in club folklore.

Taking a keen focus on Tuchel’s Blues, the form has not been great in recent weeks, to say the least. Since the very impressive 2-1 away win against Manchester City, Chelsea has lost Premier League fixtures to Arsenal and Aston Villa (on the final day of the season), which could have really cost the Blues their top four status and Champions League place for next year. In addition to that, the west London side failed to show up in an FA Cup final against Leicester City, which ultimately cost it the trophy.

Three huge games mentioned above in Tuchel’s time at Chelsea and the players failed to deliver. This is why it makes the Champions League final against Manchester City so hard to predict, because Chelsea seems to have an uncontrollable switch, which primarily decides what version the fans are going to see. We have seen Tuchel’s side rise to the occasion, as well. As mentioned, a big win away at Manchester City came after an impressive and dominating win over Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. We have also seen Tuchel’s side take apart the La Liga champions, Atletico Madrid, over two legs.

This team can perform on the big stage, but it is also capable of being a let-down.

Essentially, if Chelsea wants to have any chance of winning this final, stating the obvious, it will have to perform at its utmost best. Despite being considered the underdog, this is a tag that is one in line with the current trend around Europe, where we have seen new title winners in Italy, France and Spain. This theme also appeared in the Europa League as we saw Villarreal beat Manchester United on penalties for the crown. Two, the underdog is a label that suits Chelsea as we have seen when the Blues have been favourites, they have tended to disappoint. However, when their opponents have been favourites, Tuchel’s men tend to do quite well.

A cause for concern would be that the Blues have not kept a clean sheet in their last four games—their longest such stretch since Tuchel’s arrival. Chelsea’s goal scoring issues might also be of slight concern to Tuchel, as well. The Blues are just not a clinical side. Despite all the positives since Tuchel’s arrival, Chelsea’s expected goals tally just does not come close to how many chances are converted. Against Manchester City, Chelsea will have to be clinical. Whether the Blues are capable of that is a question that we will get an answer to on Saturday.

Predicted line-up and team news

There were some injury scares with Edouard Mendy coming off against Aston Villa in Chelsea’s last game and N’Golo Kante also coming off as a precaution against Leicester City in the Premier League. However, both players trained this week, so should be fit enough to start. The other dilemma is who should start in attack, where you could argue none of the attackers have been consistent in performance or in statistical output. Chelsea’s Champions League top scorer is still Olivier Giroud, and he has not started a game since the FA Cup quarterfinal fixture against Sheffield United.

Having said that, we should see Chelsea line up in a 3-4-3 system that has been deployed for a majority of Tuchel’s time at the Bridge. Fans have seen Tuchel turn to Cesar Azpilicueta as a wingback in recent weeks, but having seen how effective Reece James has been in two games against Manchester City as a wingback, we should anticipate him getting the nod there. That means the Chelsea captain slots back into the back three. Mateo Kovacic has returned from injury, but even despite recent poor form, Jorginho is a man Tuchel turns to for these big occasions.

Finally, the front three could literally feature anyone at this rate with the number of inconsistent performances we have seen from Chelsea’s attackers. However, we most likely will see Timo Werner—who has caused Manchester City problems—as well as Kai Havertz, who has shown glimpses of what he is capable of accompany. They will Mason Mount, who has been the undroppable player in this Chelsea team.

Predicted scoreline

If Chelsea plays its best football, a 2-1 win is in order, in favour of the Blues.

What do you think will happen in the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!