A pair of English Premier League clubs — Chelsea and Manchester City — meet to determine the next Champions League winner. Who wins the one-game showdown? We have a complete preview of the soccer title match, plus free betting advice to win big!
Got your 2021 Champions League final prediction yet? If not, we got you covered.
But before we get to our pick, let's see how online bookies are pegging the soccer match. Here are the current betting odds:
The title game isn't until Saturday, May 29 with Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey playing hosts. Expect the betting lines to change from now until match day.
Talk about diverging paths to Istanbul. Each club's road to the UCL finale couldn't have been more different.
Let's start with the gambling favorites, Man City. They've dominated the field year-round, whether in the EPL or Champions League. Presently, they stand first-place in the Premier table at 80 points — 13 points ahead of the runner-ups — and are winners of seven straight UCL games, a new record for an English club.
To earn the championship berth, City smothered PSG in the two semi-final games, winning on aggregate 4-1. This will be the club's first-ever appearance in the UCL championship.
While a title game always felt imminent for City, the same can't be said about Chelsea. In fact, back when the round of 16 began, the Blues were given odds of +1400 to win the whole competition (worth noting, City was the second-largest favorite at the time, too). This was back in December, but the Chelsea of today don't resemble that squad whatsoever.
For one, Frank Lampard was still the club's manager at the time. Only a month later, he'd be sacked in favor of Thomas Tuchel. Since that switch in late January, Chelsea hasn't looked back, losing only two matches in over three months.
Like City, Chelsea did quick work of their UCL semi-final foes, Real Madrid. Chelsea outscored its counterparts 3-1 over both games to set up the all-EPL final.
The two times that Chelsea and City met this calendar year ended in totally different results.
At the start of January, City scored three first-half goals to cream Chelsea (who added a garbage-time goal in stoppage time to make it seem closer than it actually was). But this was pre-Tuchel, so you can essentially toss this game out for comparison sake.
More recently in mid-April, the two sides met again during the FA Cup semi-final. A Tuchel-led Chelsea stunned City 1-0, spoiling City's bid at an unprecedented quadruple championship (Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup).
And as fate would have it, the clubs will meet once again before the UCL finale. On May 8, the two will duel to wind down the Premier League season in a game that's likely to be a "feel out" contest. With little on the line league-wise, you better believe both teams will be studying how to one-up each other once the title game rolls around.
Let's turn back the clock to the FA Cup meeting only weeks ago, as this game is our best gauge of what to expect come May 29. The story of the match was Chelsea's backline.
Since taking reins of the team, Tuchel's biggest contribution to the Blues has been stout defense, which was on full display there. City's high-scoring attack was held scoreless for only the second time since early December in the defeat.
Though, there is one caveat: in the 47th minute of the match, City's do-everything playmaker Kevin De Bruyne went down with an injury and left the game for good. Bruyne is back in shape and perhaps especially motivated in the title game given he was signed with the Blues between 2012 and 2014, which admittedly, was an unspectacular couple of years filled with loan outs.
With a game of this magnitude and between two teams that know each other all too well, we foresee another defensive slugfest playing out. It makes sense, too, given City and Chelsea rank one and two, respectively, in the fewest goals conceded during the EPL this season. In this sluggish style of game, we have more faith in the Chelsea side.
Yes, we're picking the Blues to pull off the upset win. Their most recent play gives them the slightest of edges in our book because let's face it, no team across the world is hotter than them currently.
Sure, City has the year-long track record, but they've looked like a more beatable squad over the past two months. Along with the loss to Chelsea, City looked less than spectacular in defeats to Manchester United and Leeds, two games where they gave up two goals apiece.
A fresher and more overlooked Chelsea squad will gut out a victory in the title match. If we had to peg the score, we think it ends 1-0 like the previous FA Cup encounter.
Betting pick to make: Chelsea
Agree with our upset pick or don't? No matter what's your answer, you can put your money where your mouth is by visiting one of the betting sites below and placing a wager. These bookmakers will carry more Champions League odds, like over/under on goals scored (we're taking the under) and props.
Beyond betting lines, you'll also find killer promotions at these bookmakers, like the sign-up bonus. These deals are geared for newbie bettors of the site. Just register an account, load money into the said account, and you'll earn back a share in free play. These bonuses can reach thousands of dollars in free money so theoretically, you can make a wad of cash before the Champions League even kicks off!
Category : News
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