The time has come to discuss the much-awaited Champions League final. Who will make it to the very top? Who will win? And shall I start placing our bets? There is a lot of talk and buzz surrounding the top teams who will make it and sportsbooks everywhere are on fire. Manchester City has had a tough road to where they stand today, after breezing through the quarterfinals.
The next step for Pep Guardiola’s team is beating Borussia Dortmund and after that, the victorious team will have to battle it out with the winner between Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain.
To say the least, the route to the final of the Champions League for 2021 is an interesting one. Full of thrills, football skills and betting.
Jurgen Klopp and his team are not having the season that they had last year, both at a national and international level. The Liverpool of 2020 is not the same Liverpool of 2021, and they need to find their mojo again if they strive to beat Real Madrid via the last eight matches.
Will they be able to have a repeat of their 2005 performance? Difficult to say, as the team is not in the form that it was last year ago. The winner of the Liverpool vs. Real Madrid match will then need to square off with the winner from the Chelsea vs Porto winner.
Can Liverpool pull such a stunt? Well, yes they can, let’s all recall the 2005 Champions League when Liverpool managed to pull a win over Chelsea and head over to win it all.
With the Final match happening in Istanbul on the 29th of March, 2021, we have drawn up today some possibilities of what the final could look like, with different teams at stake.
Manchester City facing Borussia Dortmund
We always envisage a game where Manchester City are playing as a good game. One for the books as we state. If you had to ask us who would win between the two, we place our bets on City, after all, Borussia Dortmund are not the strong stallions of the current German Bundesliga.
In the meantime, Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola’s team might face a new threat with aspiring player Erling Haaland. The player’s father played for the club in the 2000s (we all remember the Roy Keane fiasco), and is set to leave Dortmund soon.
Yet before doing that, he will most probably play the match against City and this could pose a risk to the club. Haaland teaming up with the attacking force that is Jadon Sancho would eventually end the reign for Manchester City. But could this all be possible?
Whilst Manchester City is an all-round great team. Borussia Dortmund might find some challenges at the back. They have taken home 9 goals in the Champions League tournament and with City’s attacking forces in full swing, this could be Dortmund’s kryptonite and exit from the competition.
We can all wait and see what the outcome will be. Halland and City have never squared off in the football pitch, so an interesting match in on the cards.
With De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero, Gundocan, Borussia Dortmund will face a tough cookie with Manchester City. If you had to ask us where to place your bets? We’d say Manchester City.
F.C Porto facing Chelsea F.C
Porto F.C is not a team that should not be considered as contenders to the overall league. The team has come together to end the reign of Turin’s Juventus and managed to reach the quarterfinals by sending La Vecchia Signora home.
The last time that Porto won the Champions League was in 2004. Throughout the last few seasons, Sergio Conceicao’s team has built a fortress when it comes to defence and an attacking force that has been the scare of many European teams. But is that enough to beat Chelsea FC and raise the cup at the very end?
After a small reign as Manager and Coach, Frank Lampard was replaced in January and the fresh blood of Thomas Tuchel brought a new era at Chelsea. With the new German blood on board, Chelsea has gone from strong to stronger and made a solid 13 win streak.
With such a positive track record, it is impossible to see Chelsea not skimming through the match against Porto F.C.
Tuchel has brought in a defence strategy to the team, and also started empowering players such as Kai Haverts and also Timo Werner, both players that could bring magic to the team. Something that Frank Lampard could not bring to the table.
If you had to ask us who will win the match, the odds at UK betting sites say it all. It seems that Chelsea are the favourites here, but we will need to wait and see.
Bayern Munich facing PSG
Do you remember last year, the 2019 – 2020 Premier League where Bayern squared off with PSG? Let us refresh your memory, Bayern won the match that had taken place in Lisbon.
So here we are today, reliving history. Who will end up being victorious at the end of the day? We will need to wait and see if PSG want a revenge match after all.
Talking about Bayern again, it is evident that the team wants to win again. The vibe this season in the dressing room is a graceful one, a winning one. They have scored a whopping 24 goals in the last 8 games, an average of 3 goals per game. If that is not enough for winning the game, and also winning the overall tournament, then we do not know what is.
In the meantime, Paris St Germain (PSG) and not a team to overlook either. Since Barcelona have been kicked off the tournament at the early stages, this move seems to have fired up PSG and gave them the nitro that is needed to win. Who would have thought that Barcelona could be knocked off their reign by PSG? Have done that PSG is now regarded as fierce competition and a team that could break another into pieces.
In the meantime, all the PSG fans are waiting for Neymar’s return from the knee injuries that the athlete battled this season. If Neymar is back on the pitch and in his usual form, Bayern Munich will have a tough bone to chew.
Yet, we still feel that Bayern Munich will end up victorious at the end of the day. Still, miracles do happen, so we would need to again wait and see.
Real Madrid vs Liverpool
Real Madrid squaring off with Liverpool could be rebranded as the clash of the Titans. Both teams are great teams, although Liverpool’s fire seems to be dimming out during the English Premier League. Looking back in time, this match is also a repeat in football Champions League history, as the teams faced one another in the finals for 1981 and 2018.
To be quite fair, we are all looking forward to witnessing a reunion between Mohammed Salah and Sergio Ramos. The latter had suffered a serious injury from the other during the 2018 match, so the tension is set to start at the start of the match handshake. Are past issues patched and resolved? We will have to see about that.
Klopp’s team was invincible last season and dominated many football leagues across Europe. Yet, the injuries that both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have sustained this season has set the team a million years back. Also suffering harshly at the Premier. Still, Liverpool’s defence is one to praise and the team only suffered 3 goals in the tournament.
On the other hand, Zinedine Zidane’s team is all ready to go, seeing an almost defeated Liverpool, and thriving on their current mishaps. Real Madrid has won 8 out of their 10 matches, and are deemed as one of the strongest team in the competition, but will the lack of fans and supporters have an effect on the players, on the teams as a whole?
Liverpool also has a long-standing relationship with their fans, and whilst the social media support is there, an empty stadium knocks off 80% of the player motivation. Not the ideal football world that we are living in, but we need to thank our guardian angels for allowing football to go on.
So, who will win this battle? In order to play at an online casino sportsbook and win, we suggest you place your bets on Liverpool on this one. Klopp’s united team always seems to bounce back.
Let’s talk semi-finals for the Champions League
With betting all done and dusted for the final, all eyes will be on the semifinals. We have to have a look at what we predict each game could be and who could be all in to win it. Let’s dig in.
Semifinal 1 : Bayern Munich vs Manchester City
We wish we had a crystal ball to predict the overall winner of the Uefa Champions League, but since we do not, we can only predict, and hope. One of the hopes that we have is to see Bayern Munich and Manchester City battle it out for a place in the final round.
The City Manager who was once a coach at Bayern failed to reach the heights of glory at Munich as much as he did with Manchester City. He tried a whopping three times to get Bayern to Champions League status and failed all 3 times. In May, Pep Guardiola will celebrate his 10 years in May 2021, since winning the Champions League with Barcelona in 2010 – 2011.
Will the football manager have the skill and the ability to lead another team to victory? A team that is not Barcelona FC and has no Lionel Messi? Guardiola has brought many magical moments at Manchester City, also leading them to Premier League winning status, but does he have what it takes to get Manchester City there?
If we look at the stamina and the football skills of both teams, they are both forces to be reckoned with and pillars of today’s football. The only setback that we envisage is that City never made it this far in the champions league tournament, yet Bayern has been here before.
Bayern knows what to expect, so will give them an advantage over their opponent? (Yes, we do remember the match between City and Lyons when City was beaten at quarter final stages)
If we had to give a thought, we’d say that Sergio Aguero not being in top form has been a massive hit for City. Everyone thought that Gabriel Jesus would step up to the game and enjoy the limelight, but that did not materialise. Bayern, on the other hand, has Polish legend Robert Lewandowski, and he could be the driving force to Bayern winning and making it to the very top.
What are UK betting sites saying? The odds are definitely looking good for Bayern Munich!
Semifinal 2: Liverpool vs. Chelsea
UK football fans will definitely not want to see Liverpool face Chelsea at semi-final stages, but the odds are they will have to after all. Again, this time rounds we are witnessing another repeat in history where Liverpool reigned victorious twice over London’s main team Chelsea.
This year could be the time that the two English frontrunners meet in a clash to claim a sport in the final of the Champions League. Liverpool winning over Real and Chelsea winning over Porto will see them meet off to see which English team will get the golden ticket.
Liverpool always has an edge over Chelsea when it comes to the Champions League, they have done this before many times. This time around, unfortunately they will not have the support of the Anfield and the chants of ‘ You will Never Walk Alone’ will not echo.
Still, the covid 19 pandemic has hit both teams hard, and as the United Kingdom continues to battle the way out of man waves, the two teams struggle with infections and lack of gate money.
Who will make it out of the battle between Chelsea and Liverpool? Whilst both teams are worthy of the final. Uk betting sites have their eyes set on Chelsea.
So will a Bayern vs Chelsea game make it to our tv screens on May 29th in Istanbul? That is what sportsbook sites are starting. Place your bets please!