Having wrapped up a domestic double, Manchester City head into the Champions League final against Chelsea with a lot of confidence. What kind of team will Pep Guardiola go with?
City ended their successful Premier League campaign with a commanding 5-0 win over Everton. Despite the momentum Guardiola’s men have, they will be wary of facing the Blues who have already beaten them twice in 2021.
Under Thomas Tuchel, the west Londoners have been solid in defence and shown that they are hard to break down. It will take all the attacking might of the league champions to get past them and lift the coveted trophy.
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Kick-off time: 8 PM GMT, 29 May Saturday
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We can expect to see City set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation with Ederson in goal. In defence, Kyle Walker will start as the right-back with Joao Cancelo on the left. The Portuguese will be chosen over Oleksandr Zinchenko, because of his experience.
John Stones and Ruben Dias will start as the centre backs as they have been the club’s best duo. Their distribution will be key in keeping the attack going. They’ll also be tasked with the challenge of stopping the link-up of Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount, two players that finished off Real Madrid in the last round.
The big news for the Sky Blues is that Ilkay Gundogan has been declared fit for the final. He is an important part of this team and will certainly be starting.
Along with him, it will be the usual suspects in Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian will have arguably the most important task of finding gaps in the Chelsea defence. If they fail in doing this, it will give their opponents a chance to get into the game.
Upfront, there are a few decisions that Guardiola needs to make and one of them would be the selection of Sergio Aguero. But given how well the trio of Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling have performed, the Argentine will likely be on the bench.
Foden would play through the middle as a false nine to draw out the Chelsea defence. The pace and skill of the front three is City’s best way of finding a goal. Manchester City will want to complete a treble but beating the west Londoners is tough.
Guardiola will be confident in his men to pull off the win.
Predicted Manchester City Starting XI Against Chelsea (4-3-3):
Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling