The first all-English final of the UEFA Champions League kicks off Wednesday night in Moscow (2:45 p.m. ET in the U.S.) as Manchester United faces Chelsea, with the Red Devils +130 money line betting favorites
on WagerWeb.com.
Since the competition has allowed multiple entrants from the same country (since 1997-98), Spain and Italy had been the only countries to have managed to field two teams against each other in the final (Real Madrid vs. Valencia in 2000 and A.C. Milan vs. Juventus in 2003).
Manchester United have not played a fellow English team in European competition for more than 40 years, while it's old hat for Chelsea in that regard, but it's the Blues' first Champions League final appearance.
The Red Devils have not conceded a goal in their last five Champions League matches; it's been 486 minutes since Karim Benzema gave Olympique Lyon the lead in the first leg of the knockout round on Feb. 20 in France.
United came out on top in the Premier League title race, but they have not enjoyed much success against Chelsea in recent years (the last time the two met in a final was the 2007 FA Cup, in which the Blues won), and Sir Alex Ferguson is anticipating a difficult test.
He is nevertheless confident in his side's ability and hopeful that United will become European champions for the first time since 1999.
"Since we have won the championship we have had 10 days good preparation," he said.
Ferguson is hoping to claim a second Champions League crown after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Ashley Cole suffered an injury scare in training with his teammates at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Tuesday.
The England left-back appeared to get a kick on his ankle after a challenge from team-mate Claude Makelele. He stayed down for a long time before being helped off the field by Chelsea staff, although did then gingerly begin running again to try and overcome the problem.
While Chelsea is confident Cole will be fit to play in such a prestigious game, there are fears that the playing surface may not hold up.
The artificial surface at the stadium has been replaced by natural turf on UEFA's instructions. But the first grass surface was so bumpy it was replaced and English groundsman Matthew Frost, called in to create a surface just for this game, had only 15 days to do it.
And the weather may not help the pitch. Actually, it be just like it is often in England: Rain, gusty winds and thunderstorms are expected over Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday.
The worldwide television audience is expected to reach into the hundreds of millions, with a record 20.6 million predicted in England alone.
Today's game will be the 151st time the teams have played each other. Manchester United has won 65 of the games, Chelsea has won 41, and 44 have ended in a tie.
Champions League record this season: Manchester United - Played 12, Won 9, Drawn 3, Lost 0, Goals for 19, Against 5; Chelsea - Played 12, Won 6, Drawn 5, Lost 1, Goals for 19, Against 7.
Road to the final: Manchester United, winner of the European Cup in 1968 and 1999, had to overcome Sporting Lisbon, AS Roma and Dynamo Kiev in the first round, then got past Olympique Lyon in the round of 16, AS Roma (again) in the quarterfinals and Barcelona in the semifinals. ... Chelsea, which will be playing in its first Champions League final, made its way past Rosenborg, Valencia and Schalke 04 in the initial round, then overcame Olympiakos in the round of 16, Fenerbahce in the quarterfinals and five-time champion Liverpool in the semifinals.
Leading Champions League 2007-'08 scorers: Manchester United - Cristiano Ronaldo 7, Wayne Rooney 4, Carlos Tevez 4, Gerard Pique 2; Chelsea - Didier Drogba 6, Frank Lampard 3, Michael Ballack 2, Joe Cole 2.
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