The biggest game in club football takes place on Saturday as Real Madrid and Liverpool meet in Kiev in the UEFA Champions League final. The main talking point is the battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah but it’s far more than that and it should be a cracker.

STATS

• Real Madrid’s campaign was extremely below-par in La Liga as they had to settle for a 3^rd place finish with Barcelona running away with the title. However, they have been unstoppable in Europe, defeating the French, Italian and German champions on the way to Kiev. A 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern in the semi-final saw them into the final.
• Liverpool have clearly prioritised their run in the Champions League over life in the Premier League but they managed to secure a top-four spot nevertheless. Like their final opponents, the Reds have beaten some of the best to get this far, Manchester City standing out in particular. They knocked out Roma in the semi by a 7-6 scoreline over two outstanding legs.
• This is Cristiano Ronaldo’s competition and its all-time leading scorer is continuing that trend this term with 15 goals, more than anyone else.
• Roberto Firmino follows him in the top goalscorer leaderboard with 10 goals, the same amount as his mercurial team-mate, Salah. The incredible trio is finished by Sadio Mane who has nine goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

Liverpool and Real Madrid have met five times in the past in this competition and it’s the English side who have the edge with three wins to Madrid’s two. The most famous of those came back in the 1981 final as Alan Kennedy’s goal won the Reds the third of their five European Cups. However, when they last met in 2014 in the group stage, Real won both encounters as Liverpool dropped into the Europa League. Of all five games, there hasn’t been one where both teams have scored.

REAL MADRID NEWS

They’ve already won a record 12 European Cups and a 13^th is definitely on the cards. Their squad couldn’t be in better condition for the final as they have no injury problems.

Latest matches: Real Madrid

19.05.2018	LaLi	Villarreal CF	Real Madrid	2:2	D
12.05.2018	LaLi	Real Madrid	Celta de Vigo	6:0	W
09.05.2018	LaLi	Sevilla FC	Real Madrid	3:2	L
06.05.2018	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Real Madrid	2:2	D
01.05.2018	UEFA	Real Madrid	Bayern Munich	2:2	D

LIVERPOOL NEWS

Liverpool’s last Champions League triumph came in 2005 on ‘that night’ in Istanbul. They’ll be without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for the clash but they will welcome the boost of Emre Can’s return to the side.

Latest matches: Liverpool FC

13.05.2018	Prem	Liverpool FC	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	4:0	W
06.05.2018	Prem	Chelsea FC	Liverpool FC	1:0	L
02.05.2018	UEFA	AS Roma	Liverpool FC	4:2	L
28.04.2018	Prem	Liverpool FC	Stoke City	0:0	D
24.04.2018	UEFA	Liverpool FC	AS Roma	5:2	W

SUMMARY

This Champions League final has all the makings to go down in history, especially for the two sets of fans. Despite Liverpool’s ruthless attacking trio and their form they’re in, this is considered as Real Madrid’s final to lose and they are the favourites. With both teams focused on getting forward at all times, it should promise goals and the game really could go either way.