All roads lead to Kyiv tomorrow as 12-time UCL winners Real Madrid look to win their third consecutive Champions League title this season. Beating the French domestic champions, the Italian domestic champions and the German domestic champions in their knockout games, Real Madrid are firm favourites to lift yet another European title, but they will not find it easy against a high-flying Liverpool side.
Jurgen Klopp’s men, who only finished 4th in the domestic league table, beat FC Porto, Manchester City and AS Roma in the last three rounds of the competition, and stand as the top goal scorers this season, deservedly booking a place in the final.
Liverpool are back in the showpiece event for the first time in 11 years while Zinedine Zidane has won two UCL titles in his first two seasons at the club, before taking them to yet another final. On the other hand, Klopp, who takes Liverpool into their third major final as a manager, has lost each of his last five cup finals and will be desperate to turn things around.
The last encounter between the two sides ended in a 1-0 victory for the Spanish giants, but Liverpool beat Real the last time these two met in a European final. They have 17 European titles between them and are genuine giants of the footballing world, fighting for the biggest prize of them all.
Liverpool will fight for their first title under Klopp while Zidane will want to continue his legacy. Here is the team news, predicted lineups, predictions and betting odds for this game:
Team News:
Real Madrid:
Zidane revealed before the game that he has a fully fit squad to chose from, ahead of this crunch clash. He has a welcome headache ahead of him and will have to choose the right combination to get the better of the Reds.
Expected lineup (4-2-2-2):
Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Isco, Modric; Benzema, Ronaldo
Liverpool:
The Reds will be without the likes of Joel Matip, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Joe Gomez, all of who are long-term absentees. Klopp revealed that Sadio Mane, James Milner, Emre Can and Adam Lallana, all of who were suffering from knocks, are all available for selection for this game.
Expected lineup (4-3-3):
Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum; Mane, Salah, Firmino
Betting Odds:
Real Madrid – 23/20
Draw – 29/10
Liverpool – 9/4
Prediction:
Real Madrid 3-2 Liverpool
