Liverpool and Real Madrid battle for Champions League glory at the Stade de France on Saturday evening (8pm, UK time).
This will be their ninth meeting in the European Cup/Champions League – after winning the first three between 1981 and 2009, the Reds are winless in the last five (one draw and four losses), including a defeat in the 2018 final.
Liverpool Team News
There was good news for Liverpool with Thiago, Fabinho and Joe Gomez back in training. Thiago and Fabinho have been regular starters in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield and if passed fit will be expected to resume their duties. Elsewhere there’s questions mark over who composes Liverpool’s front three. Mohamed Salah, who came off the bench against Wolves last time out, should be among those starters. So far he’s netted 33 times under Klopp in the Champions League; only three players have ever netted more while playing under a single manager in the competition’s history – Lionel Messi under Pep Guardiola (43), Ruud van Nistelrooy under Sir Alex Ferguson (35) and Thierry Henry under Arsène Wenger (35). On top of that, Salah has produced 11 assists – only Robert Lewandowski (55) and Kylian Mbappé (47) have been directly involved in more goals since the 2017/18 season began. In this period, Salah is one of only two players with 30+ goals and 10+ assists in the competition, along with Lionel Messi.
How To Live Stream Liverpool vs Real Madrid Online:
- Click on this link.
Real Madrid team news
Following the completion of their La Liga campaign, news emerged influential midfielder-cum-defender David Alaba was on track for a Champions League final appearance. He’s missed Real’s last four games due to adductor problems. Carlo Ancelotti, who is seeking a fourth title as coach, has no other issues and the Italian tactician will be expecting another huge Karim Benzema performance.
Benzema, who will be 34 years and 160 days old on the day of the game, could become the second-oldest player to score in a Champions League final, after Paolo Maldini for Milan in 2005 (36y 333d, also v Liverpool). To say the French marksman has been in blistering form would be an understatement. He’s bagged 15 goals in this season’s competition, just two behind the all-time record in a single campaign (17, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14). If he scores in this game, Benzema would also become the outright third top scorer in the history of the two competitions (currently level with Robert Lewandowski on 86), behind Cristiano Ronaldo (140) and Lionel Messi (125).
Champions League 2021/22 Recent Form:
- Liverpool: WWDWL
- Real Madrid: WLLWW
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