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#3 Chelsea have not been in great form of late
Chelsea have been able to get the better of Manchester City twice over the past month and a half. While their win in the FA Cup was hard-fought, the 2-1 win against Manchester City in the Premier League earlier this month was rather fortuitous.
Sergio Aguero's botch from the penalty spot, when Manchester City were leading 1-0, went a long way towards shifting the tide in Chelsea's favour. Pep's side also had a couple of goals chalked off due to offside. It was a game decided by fine margins and both sides will be well-advised not to make much of that.
The Blues then suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal before losing to Leicester City in the FA Cup final. Chelsea were much stronger compared to the Foxes but they struggled to hold their own at Wembley.
Chelsea suffered yet another defeat on the final day of the season. They lost 2-1 to Aston Villa when a win could have easily secured them Champions League qualification. Instead they had to rely on Tottenham Hotspur beating Leicester City to ensure a place in the Premier League top 4.
Chelsea have lost three of their last four games and that is simply not the kind of form you want to be bringing into a Champions League final. The fact that they've crumbled in high-stakes situations in recent weeks will be concerning for Thomas Tuchel.
#2 Pep Guardiola has won two Champions League finals
Pep Guardiola guided Barcelona to two Champions League triumphs in his first ever stint as manager. They beat Manchester United both times. He couldn't get past the semi-final stage at Bayern Munich in three seasons. Bayern were knocked out by the La Liga giants, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
But he has got an extremely talented set of players at Manchester City. After conceding two defeats to Tuchel's Chelsea already this season, Guardiola will be desperate to get the better of his German counterpart. Manchester City's 5-0 win over Everton on the final day of the Premier League season will have boosted the morale of their squad right before their biggest game of the season.
Meanwhile, Tuchel was able to take his Paris Saint-Germain side to the final of the UEFA Champions League last term. Despite being the stronger side over the 90 minutes, they lost to Bayern Munich as the Bavarians were simply more clinical with their chances. Here again, Tuchel runs that same risk as he lacks a clinical finisher.
#1 Manchester City midfielders are capable of running the show
While Chelsea were able to dominate the exceptional Real Madrid midfielders, they will be up for a completely different challenge against Manchester City. The likes of N'Golo Kante, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount hounded the ageing Real Madrid midfielders throughout and Zidane's men couldn't match those levels of intensity.
But Manchester City's midfield is relatively young and more energetic. Pep also has an array of midfielders to choose from. Fernandinho, Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne are likely to feature and all of those players are technically proficient and will bust their guts for 90 minutes.
If Manchester City can edge the midfield battle, which it looks like they will, the game will be theirs for the taking. Pep's team have been too relentless and creative in the final third for any side to keep them at bay. They've scored at least two goals in six of their last seven matches and Chelsea's defenders will need to outdo themselves to keep them quiet.
