Saturday Champions League Preview and Odds – Real Madrid vs. Liverpool

May 26, 2018 19:45pm – NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium

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Real Madrid: DWLDDW

Liverpool: WLLDWD

Real Madrid will be aiming for their fourth Champions League crown in five years and their third in a row when they take on Liverpool in Ukraine on Saturday night. The Reds last lifted the trophy 13 years ago in that memorable night in Istanbul.

The Spanish giants could not have asked for a tougher route to the finals facing French champions Paris Saint-Germain, Italian champions Juventus and German champions Bayern Munich.

And while they came through all of those challenges, it has been argued that they were not as convincing as in previous years and rode their luck at times. Of course getting to the final is all that counts and the fact they have achieved that so often in recent times is remarkable. Saturday night will be there 16th appearance in a final, and they are aiming for their 13th win. One of their previous final defeats came against Liverpool in 1981.

It has been a season to forget in La Liga as Real Madrid slumped to a third place finish, 17 points behind arch rivals and league winners Barcelona. They were the second highest scorers in the league but conceded twice as many goals as second-ranked Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, Liverpool saw off Porto, Premier League champions Manchester City and Barcelona-conquering Roma on their way to Kyiv. Having defied the odds so far they will feel they have every chance of causing an upset on Saturday night. Their attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah will give their opponents plenty to think about as they look to exploit the defensive frailties of Zidane’s men.

However, they will be keen to shore up their own back line after shipping four goals in the semi-final second leg against Roma. The Spanish side pose even more attacking threat than the Italians so the Reds defenders will have to be at their very best to keep out Ronaldo and Co.

Mo Salah may have grabbed all the headlines this season but with 11 goals and eight assists it is Roberto Firmino who has been the most influential player throughout the Anfield side’s Champions League campaign.

Jurgen Klopp’s men left it late to secure their place in next year’s edition of the competition, beating Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0 on the last day of the season to confirm their participation.

Prediction

Liverpool scored 40 goals on their way to the final while Real Madrid netted 30 time throughout the campaign. Those figures point to a goal-laden final with both teams expected to attack from the whistle. As a result, the Over 3.5 Goals bet could come into play here.

You can back Over 3.5 Goals at 11/10 with Betfair.

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