MX23RW : Friday, April 26 10:49:10| >> :600:90705662:90705662:

What to expect from the Champions League final this weekend?

What to expect from the Champions League final this weekend?

With the Premier League among the European leagues which have now reached a conclusion, attention turns to the Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea. While the Blues are looking to lift their second crown after their triumph in 2012, City are bidding to win this competition for the first time, adding to the pressure on the shoulders of Pep Guardiola and his team. The English top-flight champions deserve to be regarded as the clear favourites to prevail at Estadio do Dragao.

Punters will be looking to take advantage of your-promotional-code.co.uk, and backing City to be winning at half time and full time stands out to us. Make no mistake about it, this is the defining game of Pep Guardiola's tenure at the Etihad Stadium and everything that the Spaniard has been working towards since 2016 has led to this moment. Of course, the stakes being high may count against his players, but we feel that City are more likely to deliver the complete performance against opponents who have lost their way over recent matches. If you are feeling tentative, a half-time draw and City to win is 7/2, but we feel that there is more value in City leading at half time and full time at 2/1.

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero is thrown in the air by teammates as they celebrate winning the Premier League after his last match at the Etihad Stadium as a Manchester City player on May 23, 2021© Reuters

Just four goals have been scored in the two recent meetings between the sides, but that will not stop us selecting over 2.5 goals for this contest. There are signs that tiredness, both physically and mentally, is beginning to play its part, and that only increases the chances of costly mistakes being made at either end of the pitch. There have been at least five goals in City's last three matches, while Chelsea's recent vulnerability in defence makes them susceptible to conceding more than two goals. Taking everything into consideration, it makes sense to take the 6/5 which is on offer for at least three strikes to be recorded in Portugal.

The majority of people around the world have enjoyed reading about a fairytale at some point during their life, and there is the possibility of that occurring with Sergio Aguero. The Argentine will feature in the City squad for the final time, most likely on the substitutes' bench, and it creates a scenario where the legendary forward could net the last goal of the game, potentially a decisive one. Aguero showed against Everton at the weekend that his recent layoff has not hampered his sharpness in front of goal, and we feel that betting odds of 9/2 for him to conclude his untouchable spell with City with the final goal of the match are too good to turn down.

ID:449070:1false2false3false:!x!:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3604:
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Manchester CityMan City33237380324876
3Liverpool34228475344174
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton331111115254-244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!