2021 Champions League Final Opening Odds: Manchester City Favored Over Chelsea

For just the second time ever, the European Cup will be decided by a matchup of English clubs.

Manchester City and Chelsea will face off in Istanbul on May 29 in the Champions League final. It's City's first final in the competition and Chelsea's third, having won the trophy back in 2012.

DraftKings already has early odds for the matchup, and Pep Guardiola’s side is heavily favored.

These teams have already played twice this season, with each side notching a victory. City’s win, it should be noted, came against a Chelsea side coached by Frank Lampard. Thomas Tuchel’s Blues beat City 1-0 in the FA Cup semifinal.

City and Chelsea will face off twice more this season, with the first matchup coming this Saturday, May 8, in the Premier League. Chelsea are in good position to claim a Champions League place through the league this season, while City have already won the Premier League.

Three weeks later, they will meet for the European Cup, which all clubs in Europe treasure.

The must-have app for Soccer bettors

The best soccer betting scoreboard

Free picks from proven pros

Live win probabilities for your bets

DOWNLOAD NOW

Both Manchester City and Chelsea had relatively straightforward victories in the semifinals, with City advancing 4-1 on aggregate against PSG and City going through against Real Madrid on a 3-1 advantage.

City took down PSG thanks to a 2-1 win in Paris and 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium. Riyad Mahrez scored twice in the second leg, which saw Phil Foden continue his breakout season as a key playmaker for Guardiola. Ruben Dias was named man of the match for the second leg, a quality honor during what has been a sensational debut season for City.

After a 1-1 draw in Madrid, Chelsea were dominant in the second leg against Los Blancos. The Blues registered 3.56 expected goals to Real Madrid’s 0.49.

Tuchel has turned Chelsea into a defensive juggernaut, but the front three of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner reeked havoc on Real, with N’Golo Kante starring in midfield. Werner scored the first goal, heading in a rebound after Havertz hit the crossbar. Christian Pulisic came on as a second-half substitute and set up Mount for the second goal.

Here are projections for the final from soccer analyst BJ Cunningham: