Saturday night sees Chelsea FC play the second of the two cup finals they qualified for this season. The first ended in defeat (FA Cup loss to Leicester City), and they’re huge underdogs in the second.
However, Chelsea forward Kai Havertz says this team really believes, strongly in themselves. “We’ve picked up a lot of self-belief over the last few months from our good results and how we’ve played,” the most expensive German player in history said. “Self-belief is generally very important in football and ours has improved a lot, so it’s made a difference. It’s about giving your all in the game, having fun, and hopefully winning.
Chelsea FC vs Manchester City UCL Final FYIs
Kickoff: May 29, 2pm EST, Estádio do Dragão, Porto
Team News Chelsea Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Manchester City
Betting Preview: go here
Watch: CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, Peter Drury and Rob Green on the call
Form Guide Champions League: Manchester City (WWWWW) Chelsea (WWLDW)
Odds: Manchester City -110, Chelsea +340, draw is +235
The Blues, under Thomas Tuchel, have beaten Manchester City already this season, twice. They did lose the other meeting, but it was back when Frank Lampard was still in charge. Maybe they have the secret sauce that neutralizes City? It won’t be long until we find out, in what is sure to be one of the biggest UCL Final matches in recent history.
Havertz discussed what a big deal this is for him and his team.
“Being in the tunnel, walking out, hearing the anthem, and then giving your all for over 90 minutes…it’s a childhood dream which has been reached but not yet fulfilled,” he said.
“We still need to win and we’ll do everything we can to do just that.”
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea only have two injury worries, but they are huge concerns as both midfielder N’Golo Kante and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy face a race against time to be fit for the finale. Mendy injured his ribs during a collission and had to come off in the Championship Sunday loss at Aston Villa.
However, the results of the scans were promising and he returned to first team training, as did Kante, who hasn’t seen action since limping off against Leicester 11 days ago with a hamstring injury. Tuchel seemed optimistic about the prospects of both players featuring on the weekend.
Prediction: Manchester City 2, Chelsea 1
Chelsea ended City’s quadruple hopes, and if anyone is going to deny them a treble, it’s probably the Blues. I just don’t think they will though.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.