Man City vs Chelsea (Saturday 22:00)
The Estádio do Dragão in Porto plays host to the 66th final of Europe’s premier club competition after the game was switched from Istanbul.
With Manchester City aiming to become the 23rd different club to be crowned European champions in their Champions League final bow and Chelsea looking to become the 13th multi-time champions, this third-ever all-English final could be a typically tense affair.
Although their recent four-game form looks problematic, City did wrap up the Premier League title nearly three weeks ago, and 11 wins from 12 UCL games this season— six that saw City score before the 20th minute.
However, City have lost to Chelsea twice since mid-April, two results that have contributed to an astonishing 40-game run without a draw. One of those was a 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat, but the three games since in which City conceded first they bounced back to win.
Chelsea’s previous two UCL finals have been decided by penalties. However the ‘Blues’ are yet to concede over 1.5 goals in a UCL game this term so should be tough to break down, albeit that statistic is true for City’s robust European defence too.
With Chelsea leading at HT in seven of their eight UCL wins this campaign, starting well in this first European H2H for 50 years appears imperative. Especially so, as Chelsea have failed to score before HT in five straight competitive matches, and five of the last seven H2Hs.
Head to Head
08.05.21 PL Manchester City Chelsea 1 : 2
17.04.21 FAC Chelsea Manchester City 1 : 0
03.01.21 PL Chelsea Manchester City 1 : 3
25.06.20 PL Chelsea Manchester City 2 : 1
23.11.19 PL Manchester City Chelsea 2 : 1
Nantes vs Toulouse (Sunday 19:00)
Thursday sees the first leg in Ligue 1’s relegation playoff. This fixture promises to be a tough duel between a Ligue 2 and Ligue 1 outfit as both sides look for a place in the French top flight. Nantes narrowly survived relegation after putting in some good performances in the last month to the end of the season, winning four times and losing once in their last five Ligue 1 games.
Toulouse on the other hand put in a shift in the last five games, winning three and drawing twice. Nantes should not expect a walkover match against a team that finished 3rd in Ligue 2. Toulouse had the third-best in home record of 13 wins, 4 draws and only two losses. Nantes managed 6 away victories, 5 draws and 8 losses on the road. Few goals at full time should be expected in this firsts leg.
Head to head
01.12.19 L1 Nantes Toulouse 2 : 1
07.04.19 L1 Toulouse Nantes 1 : 0
05.02.19 CDF Nantes Toulouse 2 : 0
20.10.18 L1 Nantes Toulouse 4 : 0
17.01.18 L1 Toulouse Nantes 1 : 1
