Champions League final: Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund preview, prediction, likely playing XI
Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are all set to lock horns in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final which is set to be played at England’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday, June 1.
Madrid’s route to the final was no easy as they had to face RB Leipzig in the round of 16, Manchester City in the quarters and Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Dortmund toppled PSV Eindhoven in the last 16, Atletico Madrid in quarters and Paris Saint-Germain in the semis.
Both teams had to fight their way to the final and they will, once again, have to go to the lengths to lift the title
Madrid are in top form, they only lost two matches all season, both against Atletico Madrid, and they are still yet to lose in the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti’s men ended the group stage with 18 points, and have been on fire since then.
On the other hand, Dortmund finished fifth in the Bundesliga with 63 points and they were also knocked out of the DFP Pokal, the Champions League is their last shot at ending the season unbeaten.
The last time the UCL took place at Wembley Stadium was in 2013 when Bayern Munich faced Borussia Dortmund and eventually lifted the title. Dortmund had made their way to the final by beating Madrid in the semi-final.
Real Madrid will be fighting to win their record-extending 15th Champions League title while Dortmund will be aiming for their second European title in history.
Team News
For Madrid, they will be without two of their key players, Aurelien Tchouameni and Andriy Lunin. The former got injured during the semi-final against Bayern while the latter got an infection a few days ago and hasn’t trained with the team since then. Other than the two, Madrid will be missing David Alaba, who is out for the season with an ACL tear.
For Dortmund, Sebastien Haller is the only doubt for Saturday’s clash and Julien Duranville and Ramy Bensebaini are both definitely out.
Win or lose, it will be an emotional match for the fans of both sides as Toni Kroos will bid farewell to the Spanish club while Marco Reus will don Dortmund’s jersey for the last time as he is leaving the club.
Predicted Lineups
Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Can, Sabitzer; Adeyemi, Brandt, Sancho; Fullkrug
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Nacho, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
Prediction
Real Madrid have played seven UCL finals this century and they haven’t lost one, considering Los Blancos’ form in the UCL, we will go with Real Madrid winning the tie
