The UEFA Champions League final is less than 24 hours away and Manchester City will face Chelsea at Estadio Do Dragao in Porto, Portugal on Saturday on CBS and Paramount +.

Much of the pre-match speculation has centered on the fitness of Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and midfielder star N’Golo Kante, with manager Thomas Tuchel regularly scheduled to answer questions about the pair.

The two have now returned to training with their Chelsea team-mates while City have had a reasonably stress-free period of preparation for the Premier League fixture.

With pre-match press conferences now ruled out, speculation has turned to the starting XI – even if previous efforts to anticipate Citizens boss Pep Guardiola have been unsuccessful.

Position by position, the two goalkeepers are easy – assuming there aren’t any late fitness issues – with Ederson between the sticks for City and Mendy their counterpart for Chelsea.

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Going forward and in defense, the Premier League champions are more likely to go with four at the back, while Londoners have often played with three since Tuchel arrived in January.

Ruben Dias and John Stones will likely be flanked by Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko for City while Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Reece James will most likely be the three for Chelsea – as detailed by Adi Joseph of CBS Sports.

With Tuchel’s defense lighter in numbers, his midfielder will likely be four men with Cesar Azpilicueta and Ben Chilwell on the flanks and able to help defensively as Kante and Jorginho try to get the game under control from the middle. Match. the park to prevent City from creating at will.

On the Manchester side, Fernandinho is likely to provide the defensive shield behind Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva with the Germany international a particular threat in front of goal.

On offense, while structures can vary and Guardiola rarely starts with a recognized striker, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden are very likely to be the Spaniard’s weapons of choice.

On Tuchel’s side, Mason Mount will be key again and will likely be joined by Kai Havertz behind Timo Werner as the German pair’s timid first terms continue.

Possible changes in the Chelsea XI could involve Andreas Christensen, Christian Pulisic and possibly Mateo Kovacic, but Tuchel won’t want to risk changing him too much having already beaten City twice since taking office.

Prediction Manchester City vs Chelsea

City: Ederson – Walker, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko – Fernandinho, Gundogan, Silva – Foden, De Bruyne, Mahrez.

Chelsea: Mendy – Silva, Rudiger, James – Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell – Mount, Havertz, Werner.

Either way, it promises to be a great show with lots of top talent on display and hopefully goals too and you can keep up with how Paramount + evolves.

How to watch the Champions League finals

Dated: Saturday May 29 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Estádio do Dragão – Porto, Portugal
TV: CBS | Direct: Paramount +
William Hill Sportsbook Odds: Man City -114, Draw +240, Chelsea +340