Liverpool vs Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League Final
8:00pm UK
Saturday 28th May 2022.
Stade De France
Predictions
The Reds have failed to score the first goal in their last five matches away from home across the league and UCL fixtures. Their opponents meanwhile have done so in six of their previous nine away fixtures. Therefore, I have picked Real Madrid to score the first goal.
Both teams were able to get on the scoresheet the last time these teams met four years ago in Kiev. Interestingly, the winning teams were able to maintain clean sheets in the three finals since.
Furthemore, Liverpool were able to keep a clean sheet just once in their last five UCL knockout games. Meanwhile, the BTTS wager has not failed in Real’s last five UCL games. Hence I have gone for the wager.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid: Betting odds
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First team to score: Real Madrid @ 2.40 odds.
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Both teams to score @ 1.68 odds.
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Correct score: Liverpool 3-1 @ 15.25 odds.
Probable lineups
Liverpool
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz
Real Madrid
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Liverpool vs Real Madrid: Pre match press conference
Jurgen Klopp: It’s good to have played finals before, definitely. I said it after we won the [2019] final against Tottenham: in all the finals that my teams had played before, we played better football but we lost. So, we have to learn to win finals and we’ve won a few; not Champions League finals, but a few others. We are more experienced and that’s probably good.
There’s the feeling that we want to put things right, definitely, but it cannot be the main thought. If we go there [saying] like, “Revenge! Payback!” all these kinds of things, it doesn’t work like that. That’s not us. We came here to the final in a different way. So, we have to play our way and that’s what we have to try [to do].
Carlo Ancelotti: [Liverpool have] a lot of quality together, with high intensity and good organisation. They’re one of the best teams. [Jürgen Klopp is] a great coach. I have a good relationship with him. [He’s] A great coach who brought some new things to football with the intensity and offensive pressure [of his teams]. He’s doing a great job.