(Football news) Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland is all set to host the 2021 UEFA Super Cup final. The match will be played between the UEFA Champions League winner Chelsea and the UEFA Europa League winner Villareal.
Unai Emery's Villareal caused a major upset by winning the Europa League. The Spanish club defeated Arsenal over two legs in the Semi Final before winning the penalty shootout against Manchester United in the final. Villareal's performance was a classic display of parking the bus and game management, the same is expected in the Super Cup.
Chelsea were late bloomers in their Champions League campaign. The two Semi finals against Real Madrid were the games they truly turned up and established their authority. Chelsea's fortune changed when Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as the first team manager. Tuchel got the team playing a fast paced keep ball strategy of football. The German manager got the best out of newcomers Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Thiago Silva. Tuchel tactically outclassed Pep Guardiola to win the final against Manchester City courtesy of Kai Havertz' goal.
Chelsea will enter the contest as favourites for obvious reasons. Villareal haven't won any of their six friendly games leading up to the match. Their pre-season has been severely affected by injuries and Covid. Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin, Geronimo Rulli, and Samuel Chukwueze will miss the game. Chelsea on the other hand have all their players fit for the contest. Mason Mount, Jorginho and Emerson who featured in the UEFA Euro final are likely to start the game on the bench.
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Despite Chelsea being favourites, Villareal have the potential to pull off an upset just like they did in the Europa League. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz will be very crucial in attack whereas N'golo Kante as always will engineer the midfield. Villareal goal scorer Gerrard Moreno who had a very good Euro 2020 will have to make the most of the few chances he gets against a solid Chelsea defence.
The winner of the contest will be given a massive boost ahead of the season in addition to a silverware. The next step for Thomas Tuchel is to guide Chelsea to their first Premier League win since 2017. Unai Emery on the other hand will be eyeing a top four finish in La Liga and an entry in the Champions League knockout stage.
