The 2018 UEFA Champions UEFA League Final, between Real Madrid and Liverpool, expert predictions and game preview.
The 2018 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Liverpool will be held at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev this Saturday.
This is the sixth UCL final hosted at an Eastern European venue following those in Belgrade (1973), Athens (1983,1994,2007) and Moscow (2008).
The 2017-18 Champions League final will take place on 26 May, 2018.— EniqueLaraArevalo (@EniqueLara) April 26, 2018
The match will be played at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/hpTLzKeHUi
Serbian Milorad Mažić will officiate the final for the first time in his career.
Two competing teams have 22 UEFA Champions League finals between themselves, and 17 titles held together.
Real have won the competition 12 times so far, while Reds have triumphed five times. The fixture is also a repeat of the 1981 European Cup final, which was last Real Madrid's defeat as Liverpool won the game played in Paris (1:0).
They also played 4 group matches, with each side winning two games with goal difference 5:4 for the English side.
By coming to this match Real Madrid reached a record 16th final after winning against Bayern, knocking them out of the competition for the second consecutive season.
They finished group H as runners-up, behind Tottenham, ahead of Borussia Dortmund and APOEL.
In playoffs, they faced tougher opponents; PSG, Juventus and mentioned Bavarian side.
This is Real Madrid's third consecutive final, and fourth final in five tournaments with an opportunity to win a record 13th title.
⚪️ Real Madrid— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) May 2, 2018
🏆 12x European Cup winners
👏 16th final
🏆 Won all six #UCL finals
🏆 1998: 1-0 v Juve
🏆 2000: 3-0 v Valencia
🏆 2002: 2-1 v Bayer Leverkusen
🏆 2014: 4-1 v Atletico (aet)
🏆 2016: 5-3 pens v Atletico
🏆 2017: 4-1 v Juventus #RealMadrid #UCL #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/2eK5ocv1wk
Previously they won this competition in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
They are looking to be the first team in the Champions League era, and the fourth overall, to win three straight finals, a feat only achieved by the Real Madrid side of the 1950s, as they went on to win a record five successive finals, as well as the Ajax and Bayern Munich squads of the 1970s in 1973 and 1976, respectively.
When they crossed paths in the 2014/15 group stage, Real won both matches.
Zidane will hope that Isco, Carvajal, and Nacho can recover in time for the game.
Liverpool reached their eighth final, their first since 2007, after beating Roma. They have won the final on five occasions in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005.
🔴 Liverpool— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) May 2, 2018
🏆 5x European Cup winners
👏 Eighth final
🏆 Won 'that' #UCL final
⚽️ Leading scorers this season (40)
🎶 Salah, Mane, Firmino - 29 #UCL goals!#LFC #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/fnVrO0946n
Liverpool was the first team since Bayern Munich in 2011–12 to reach the final having qualified for the competition through the play-off round.
Reds were Group E winners ahead of Sevilla, Spartak Moscow and Maribor. In the knockout phase, they won against Porto, Manchester City and already mentioned Roma.
Mentioned 1981 victory is also the only time an English club has prevailed against Spanish opposition in a European Cup final. Spanish sides have won on the other three occasions.
UCL Final Expert Prediction
Klopp will probably be without the services of Gomez, Matip, Chamberlain, and Can in the UEFA Champions League final on May 26th.
Real's Zidane could also become the first coach to win three European Cups in a row, having become the first to win the UCL in consecutive seasons in 2017.
Klopp's side is playing great this season, but it is very doubtful whether they have enough experience to win against this Madrid side.
