Manchester City and Chelsea will collide in European football’s showpiece event this Saturday night as fans around the world prepare for the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final. Both sides have had dramatic campaigns up to this point and when they head to Porto this weekend, something tells us that trend is going to continue.

City have already been able to celebrate two triumphs this season between their Premier League title win and League Cup final success. On the flip side, the Blues have seriously improved their fortunes since Thomas Tuchel came through the door – although they did slip up in the FA Cup final which could wind up knocking their confidence.

This is seen as Manchester City’s race to lose, even if Pep Guardiola won’t come out and say it, as they are 10/11 favourites with William Hill. Their lethal attacking intent combined with their strength in depth should ensure that they feel comfortable heading into the final, but as we all know, wins in the FA Cup and Premier League for Chelsea in the last two meetings between these clubs needs to be taken into consideration.

Both of the fixtures in question were tight and they definitely didn’t mean as much by contrast, but that certainly doesn’t dismiss that it’s Tuchel 2-0 Guardiola – and Pep is going to take that to heart if he knows what’s good for him.

Chelsea are still the underdogs for the final and that’s showcased through their 17/5 odds with Betfair. The summer transfer window is expected to be pretty exciting for them now that they’ve proven their ability to reach the big games, but the question of whether or not this is a step too far has yet to be answered.

The first goalscorer in any Champions League final is always going to be integral as it sets the scene for the rest of the game in more ways than one. For this game in particular, the stage is surely set for Sergio Aguero to make some kind of impact, with his 7/2 odds via Betfred highlighting what he’s capable of. Plus, we all love a good fairytale, and the Argentine scoring in his last game for the club would make for quite the story.

Kevin De Bruyne is also likely to play a fairly substantial role as the commander in chief throughout the final third for City with his adversary, in more ways than one, probably being Mason Mount. The young Englishman has come an unbelievably long way in such a short space of time this season and the trust put in him by both Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel has been well and truly repaid.

Our official prediction is that Manchester City are going to take this win a 2-1 win, sealing their first ever Champions League title win. They’ll be made to work for it, and we do believe Chelsea will be the team pushing ahead in the latter stages, but it’d take an almighty effort to rip this away from the grasp of the Manchester boys.