UEFA Super Cup Preview

It may not be the competition that springs to mind when you think of European football, but it definitely is exciting.

Background

The UEFA Super Cup was created by UEFA in 1973 to format a game between the winner’s of the Champions League and the Europa League of that year.

For the last 48 years, the winner’s of Europe’s largest football competitions have fought for another trophy to put in their cabinet with the likes of Europe’s best teams lifting the trophy.

The first time to lift this trophy was Ajax who have won the trophy once more since then and the latest to win it was Bayern Munich who won last year’s Super Cup when they beat Sevilla 2-1 in Budapest.

The most successful clubs in the competition's history are Barcelona and AC Milan who have won the competition 5 times each over the years.

Belfast 2021

This year’s competition is being held at Windsor Park in Belfast which is in Northern Ireland. The stadium is home to Irish Premiership champions Linfield and the Northern Ireland national team.

The stadium was originally built back in 1903 and was officially opened in 1905. It has since been renovated most recently in 2015. The stadium has a capacity of up to 22,000, the highest capacity of all the football stadia in Northern Ireland.

It’s a really big deal for such a huge game to be hosted in a place that has been tarred with its history for many years, and which is now seeing a changing of the guard with tourism being the largest industry in the country.

The Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson that it is a “fantastic opportunity for Northern Ireland”

“This is going to be a great advert for our country… it doesn’t get any bigger for us.”

13,000 spectators will be in attendance at the game, due to current restrictions and guidelines that will mean the stadium will have a capacity of around 70%.

Despite it not being a full house, I am certain it will not affect the mood towards the game at all. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric for the game which many fans from both Northern Ireland and further afield will definitely be looking forward to.

Chelsea & Villarreal

Champions League winners Chelsea will face Europa League winners Villarreal in tomorrow nights game.

Both teams will be desperately wanting to get their hands on the trophy with Chelsea losing in their last 3 appearances in the competition most recently losing on penalties to Liverpool in 2019.

Villarreal might make a 100% win record if they get the victory tomorrow night which will be their first appearance in the competition.

Squads

Key stars for Chelsea have been listed in their 24-man squad such as Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Thiago Silva amongst more. Villarreal has also named players including Gerard Moreno, Nino and Pau Torres.

Where to Watch?

The UEFA Super Cup will be broadcast in the UK by BT Sport who will start their build-up to the game at 7pm on Wednesday.

In the Republic of Ireland, the game will be broadcast on the Virgin Media channel.

Kick-off Details

The game will kick off at 8pm (UK Time) on Wednesday evening. Team news will be released around 60-90 minutes before kick-off in Belfast.