Competing in their first-ever UEFA Champions League final, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will lock horns with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto in the early hours of May 30 (IST).
After a rather slow start to their 2020/21 football season, Manchester City went on a 21-game unbeaten run across all competitions to get their hands on two silverwares - the Premier League and the EFL Cup - so far. Chelsea, on the other hand, are still gunning for their first title under Tuchel after losing the FA Cup final to Leicester City.
With both teams carrying a clean bill of health, the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League final warrants for an exciting watch, to say the least.
Manchester City vs Chelsea head-to-head
Be it the past or the present, Manchester City have always found it difficult to breach a stern and compact Chelsea defence. The UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea is going to be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Two came in the Premier League while one was in the FA Cup semi-final. To everyone’s surprise, the Blues have won two of their three meetings so far, this includes eliminating the Cityzens from the FA Cup.
Overall, the Manchester City vs Chelsea head-to-head count is dominated by the latter, who has won 70 of the 168 meetings. City, on their part, have won 59 while 39 games have ended in a draw. Furthermore, Pep Guardiola’s record against Chelsea isn’t great either. In a total of 18 matches against the Blues, the former Barcelona manager has won just six while losing seven.
The two teams have crossed paths just twice in the European competition, which came in the 1971's UEFA European Cup Winners Cup. Chelsea won both the games 1-0.
Manchester City vs Chelsea form guide
Manchester City and Chelsea are coming on the back of contrary results. While City ended their Premier League campaign with a resounding 5-0 victory over Everton, Chelsea ended up on the losing side (2-1) against Aston Villa.
Manchester City’s form in the UEFA Champions League is exhilarating, to say the least. They have won seven of their last eight European matches. Make no mistake though, as the other one was a 0-0 draw against Porto. Chelsea, on the other hand, have endured a defeat in the second leg of the quarter-final against Porto.
Chelsea’s recent form is going to be big trouble for Tuchel. The Blues have won just one of their last four matches in all competitions.
Manchester City recent form: W, L, W, L W
Chelsea recent form: L, W, L, L, W
Manchester City vs Chelsea Champions League stats
While it is going to be Manchester City’s first-ever UEFA Champions League final, Chelsea are no strangers to the competition. Since their loss to Manchester United in the 2007/08 Champions League final, Chelsea have gone on to win three major European finals - Champions League in 2011/12 and UEFA Europa League in 2013/14 and 2018/19.
Since the 2007/08 Champions League final, only Real Madrid and Bayern Munich (four) have played more Champions League finals than Chelsea.
Manchester City vs Chelsea top performers
To everyone’s surprise, it is striker Olivier Giroud who has scored the most goals (six) for Chelsea in the Champions League this season. For Manchester City, the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Ferran Torres have scored four goals. Mahrez, however, has warped two assists as well.
Not to forget the heartbeat of City’s midfield, Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgium international has scored three goals in the Champions League and has also provided four assists.
Manchester City vs Chelsea probable playing XI
Manchester City probable XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Gundogan, Silva; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden
Chelsea probable XI: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Ziyech, Mount; Werner
Featured photo: AFP / Paul Ellis, Adrian Dennis
