Man City and Chelsea have both reached the Champions League final to make it an all-English affair but both these sides meet in the Premier League this weekend, a match which is being considered as a dress rehearsal of sorts.
Man City obviously go into this UCL final as the slight favourites and many think if they can beat Chelsea in the league on Saturday then Pep Guardiola will manage to unlock the tactical ploy of Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
The Man City boss though is not ready to pay attention to any such comments and he’s clearly mentioned that Saturday’s result will not determine who will lift the Champions League trophy later this month.
“First of all, congratulations to them for reaching the final,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“They made two good performances against the king of that competition in Real Madrid. If we played the final in one week, six days, there could [a significant impact], but after tomorrow there are 21 or 22 days.
“Many things can happen. We just have to focus. It is so important to think of the Premier League. Of course, it is the opponent we’re going to face in the final but we’re going to try to play with the players suited to the way they play.
“I’ve always said the Premier League is the most important title. We have four games left to get one victory and tomorrow we will try to get it.
“Right now, believe me when I say, there is not one thought about the final of the Champions League because we do not have the Premier League in our hands.
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“When we have the Premier League, after that the focus will be the final of the Champions League and everything will be related to the final.
“I could say we are going to think about the final, but nobody plays the way Chelsea play. Every opponent is completely different. People can think the guys who played against Dortmund or Monchengladbach will play in the final but right now I don’t know. Everyone has to be ready.
“Chelsea play differently so I will want everyone involved in next two or three weeks to prepare for the final.”
Chelsea will obviously tread with a lot of caution this weekend(trying desperately to avoid a defeat) but Man City’s approach in this match will be a lot more proactive as they already have one hand on the Premier League trophy.
The same cannot be said about the UCL final though since Pep Guardiola will obviously be much more careful given that this will be his first European final with Manchester City.
