Real Madrid v Liverpool

Real Madrid and Liverpool contest is the 63rd European Cup in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital. Real is an 12-time winner of the Champions League; Liverpool have 5 titles.

Interesting facts:

• Serbian referee Milorad Mazic, 45, will be the man in the middle for the final.
• Real Madrid have won all six of their UEFA Champions League finals, a record number of wins. Liverpool return to the final for the first time after 2007.
• The fixture is a repeat of the 1981 European Cup final, won 1-0 by Liverpool in Paris to give them a third triumph in the competition in five years. That was Madrid’s last defeat in the final of this competition.
• That 1981 victory is also the only time an English club has prevailed against Spanish opposition in a European Cup final. La Liga clubs have won the other three meetings, Barcelona beating Arsenal in 2006 (2-1) and Manchester United in both 2009 (2-0) and 2011 (3-1).
• In March 2009 Liverpool forced Real Madrid to their biggest UEFA Champions League defeat (4-0) thanks to two Steven Gerrard goals and further strikes from Fernando Torres and Dossena.

The teams’ news and game prediction continues under the Match Center.

Ζinedine Zidane has a full roster to choose from following the return from injury of Ronaldo and Carvajal, both of whom appear certain to start. There is debate as to whether it will be Bale or Benzema up top alongside CR7; in big games the Frenchman tends to get the nod but the Welsh is also in form right at the right time.

Emre Can has been out since March with a back injury but has been taking full part in training since Monday. Milner is likely to feature after recovering from a muscle strain, while Alexander-Arnold, 19, will become the club’s youngest player in a European Cup final if he starts.

Prediction: I expect many goals, a draw and Liverpool to win the trophy in the extra time or at the penalty shootout. I have backed the draw at 3.90 (bet365), the Over 3.5 goals at 2.20 (Novibet) as well as the 2-2 and 3-3 Correct Score at 10.00 and 29.00 respectively with bet365 (prices correct on Friday 25/6 at 11am).

Possible line-ups (suspensions and injuries)
Real Madrid: Navas (CRC); Carvajal (ESP), Varane (FRA), Ramos (ESP), Marcelo (BRA); Casemiro (BRA), Kroos (GER), Modrić (CRO), Isco (ESP); Ronaldo (POR), Benzema (FRA)
Out: None
Doubtful: None.

Liverpool: Karius (GER); Alexander-Arnold (ENG), Van Dijk (NED), Lovren (CRO), Robertson (SCO); Henderson (ENG), Milner (ENG), Wijnaldum (NED); Mané (SEN), Firmino (BRA), Salah (EGY)
Out: Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee ligaments), Gomez (ankle), Matip (thigh)
Doubtful: Emre Can (back)

Check the odds of the Champions League matches at bet365 > Live In-Play

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The final is played in Stade de France. Portugal is looking for their first major trophy. France want to win their 4th.

Bet live on Portugal v France at bet365 > Live In-Play

Portugal

I have mentioned before my belief that Portugal will be the winnner of Euro 2016. They qualified with one way or another during this campaign where they prove cynical. Fernando Santos’ team came 3rd in their group and qualified with 3 draws. Their scores were: 1-1 vs Iceland, 0-0 vs Austria and 3-3 vs Hungary. In the last game they went behind 3 times, but managed to equalise all 3 of them.

Portugal improved in the knock out matches. They first beat Croatia in the extra time (1-0), then qualified against Poland on penalties (1-1) and finally they have beaten Wales (2-0) with an -long expected- excellent performance.

CR7 has been the 1st player in history to score in a 4th successive Euro. He also equalised Platini’s 9 goals in the tournament and is… flashing to overtake him.

Portugal is usually strong defensively. Pepe did not play in the semi final but calls himself available to start William Carvalho also returns from suspension.

Possible line-up
Portugal: Rui Patrício; Cédric, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro; William Carvalho, Adrien, João Mário, Renato Sanches; Nani, Ronaldo.
Doubtful: Pepe (thigh)

France

France have won their last ten games against Portugal, a run dating back to 1975. Les Bleus also won EURO 1984 and World Cup 1998 on home soil, so their only success outside the borders came in the EURO 2000.

Two wins and one draw was France’s results in the group stage. Firstly they managed to win 2-1 against Romania late in the game, then they scored twice in the injury time of the 2-0 win with Albania, but in their final game they ended up in a scoreless draw versus Switzerland.

They improved on the way to the final, beating Ireland (2-1), Iceland (5-2) and Germany (2-0). Antoine Griezmann has reached 6 goals with the double in the semi final.

Deschamps has no injury or suspension concerns, so he can pick the strongest side.

Will France keep their home run and lift the trophy?

Possible line-up
France: Lloris; Sagna, Koscielny, Umtiti, Evra; Pogba, Matuidi; Sissoko, Griezmann, Payet (or Kante; Giroud.

Bet live on Portugal v France at bet365 > Live In-Play

Our bet: France has definitely more quality overall and play at home. These are the two obvious reasons why they are favourites tonight. Having gone to the final the… hard way, proves they can lift their 4th major trophy. However, we expect a disciplined Portugal that can fight for glory and why not, reach it. In any scenario, we expect the winner to be revealed after the first 90 minutes, so we bet on the draw. A possible 1-1 scoreline is also in our bets while we cover our bets with a 2-1 to France.

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Winners play Portugal in the final of the 10th July (Stade de France). Players do not carry their bookings to the final unless it is a red card shown on the semis.

The hosts have not beaten Germany at a major tournament since the distant 1958. Most recently, they defeated Les Bleus 1-0 in the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals. They also got the better of France in the semi-finals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

Germany

They received the first goal of their campaign by Italy, but they proved the cliche of “the Germans winning in the end” for once more knocking out the Italians on penalties. Neuer has kept himself busy in several occasions through the EURO 2016, but less than any other goalkeeper. Germany show good passing ability and they score high percentages of ball possession in every single game. Tonight they need to step up their game though, because they play their hosting neighbor. The 7-1 win against Brazil in 2014 definitely crossed our mind. Especially with the date showing 7/7 today…

Hummels is the biggest absence for Low, while Khedira and Gomez have also been important in France and they are both sidelined. So, this is a weakened side and Muller’s performance in attack with Gotze supporting him, can prove vital.

Possible line-up
Germany: Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng, Höwedes, Hector; Kroos, Schweinsteiger; Draxler, Özil, Götze; Müller.
Out: Hummels (suspended), Gomez (thigh), Khedira (groin)

France

France is unbeaten in the competition. They only drew one against Switzerland in a comfortable draw that was securing the top of their group. Didier Deschamps has vowed that the hosts will “give all we have” against “the best side in the world”. France has never lost a home game in a major tournament and they want to continue that fantastic run. They did it in the most high scoring game of the finals against Iceland (5-2).

Kante and Rami are both back from suspension, but they might have to start on the bench after the team’s performance against Iceland. However, a more defensive approach might be needed and at least the first (Kante) could be in the starting line-up.

Possible line-up
France: Lloris; Sagna, Umtiti, Koscielny, Evra; Pogba, Matuidi; Sissoko (or Kante), Griezmann, Payet; Giroud.

Bet live on Germany v France at bet365 > Live In-Play

Our bet: Germany could get our backing if played in neutral ground. In Marseille, France has more chances but we believe nothing will be finished in 90 minutes. We back the draw as well as a possible correct score of 1-1 here.

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