Michael Owen makes his prediction for the Champions League final
Football pundit Michael Owen believes Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will comfortably beat Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final. He has predicted a 2-0 win for Manchester City in Porto.
The ex-Liverpool striker believes City's solid recent form is enough to make them favorites ahead of the final. Writing in his BetVictor column, Owen said:
“The Citizens (Manchester City) were worthy winners over two legs against PSG in the semis, and given their all-out assault domestically, they rightfully come into this as favourites."
Manchester City are chasing their first-ever Champions League title after reaching their first final by beating Paris St-Germain 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, this will be Chelsea's third Champions League final. The Blues have won the trophy before, beating Bayern Munich in the 2012 summit clash. Thomas Tuchel's men reached the final by beating Real Madrid 3-1 in the semis.
Manchester City have had more time to prepare for the final compared to Chelsea: Michael Owen
Michael Owen believes Manchester City have the advantage over Chelsea as they have had more time to prepare for the finals compared to their rivals.
Owen said with Manchester City winning the league early, they had more time to focus on the showpiece match, compared to Chelsea who were involved in a top four battle until the last game.
The 41-year-old stated:
“With the league sewn up a couple of weeks ago, City have had ample time to prepare for this. That can only be of benefit to Pep Guardiola, and given Chelsea’s recent dip in form, it’s hard to make a case against City lifting their first Champions League trophy."
The English international also spoke about both sides' gameplans. Owen thinks Manchester City will play on the front foot, while Chelsea will sit deep and try to catch the Citizens on the counter-attack. He added:
“I think Chelsea will sit in here and try to catch City on the counter, however, with Manchester City so powerful on the attack, keeping them out is the ultimate test."
However, Michael Owen believes Manchester City's strength and depth will help them prevail over Chelsea in the final.
“With that in mind, I’m going for City to win their first and much coveted Champions League trophy with a 2-0 victory,” he concluded.
Manchester City are eyeing their third major trophy of the season after already lifting the Premier League and Carabao Cup trophy earlier this year.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will be hoping to cap-off an excellent first season under Tuchel with a trophy. The Blues have already lost one major final this season, losing 1-0 to Leicester City in the FA Cup final.