This time last year, two English teams, Manchester City and Chelsea had made it through to face off against each other for the Champions League trophy.
In the end, it was Chelsea who landed the victory thanks to Kai Havertz’s second half strike clinching the Londoners a 1-0 success and their second Champions League victory in the club’s history.
For a long time this year, another all-Premier League final looked on the cards, but in the end, it was Liverpool and Real Madrid who have made it through their respective semifinal ties to clinch a place in the final in Paris later this month.
The final is a repeat of both the 2018 and the 1981 finals, the latter of which also took place in Paris and it will be contested between two teams with a long tradition of success in the tournament.
In our special preview of the game, we will look at both sides competing in the showpiece event, plus their squads and all the latest betting odds and tips as we head closer to the game.
And if there’s a special offer from bet365 Sport for the final itself, stay tuned as we’ll update this page nearer the time with more information!
Liverpool will take on Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League final at the famous Stade de France in Paris.
Originally, the final was to be played in Saint Petersburg in Russia, but was moved to Paris after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
The final kicks off at 8pm UK time on Saturday 28th May 2022 and the officials for the game will be announced by UEFA over the next couple of weeks.
During the draw for the quarter finals, the home and away team for draw purposes was decided and Liverpool are the designated home team, with Real Madrid designated the away team for the fixture.
Let’s now take a look at how both teams reached the final, their squads and any latest betting odds that will appeal to punters seeking to get best value on their bets.
Champions League 2021/22 Results
Group Stage Table – Group D
Knockout Phase
Champions League Stats 2021/22
Champions League 2021/22 Results
Group Stage Table – Group B
Knockout Phase
Champions League Stats 2021/22
All matches between the two teams have been in the Champions League and two have been finals.
In the very first meeting between the two teams back in 1981, Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the final in Paris. Alan Kennedy scoring a late winner to hand Liverpool what was then their third Champions League victory.
They met again in Kyiv in 2018 but this time it was Real Madrid who emerged victorious with a 3-1 victory in a game memorable for two dreadful goalkeeping errors from Loris Karius that led to two Real goals (one for Benzema, one for Bale) and a stunning Gareth Bale overhead kick.
Real Madrid are the most successful team in Champions League history, winning the tournament a record 13 times in total.
Madrid won the first five finals from 1956 through to 1960 and also landed victories in 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. They have also been runner up in the tournament on three occasions in 1962, 1964 and 1981.
This will be their 17th final appearance, which is also a record.
For Liverpool, this will be their tenth Champions League Final appearance and the Reds have won the trophy on six occasions, finishing as runner up three times.
The Reds won the trophy in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005 and 2019 and they were runners up in 1985, 2007 and 2018.
Liverpool are the joint third most successful team in the competitions history with six wins and can go joint second with Milan if they land a seventh win in the 2022 final.
The teams have met twice in a final previously. Liverpool winning 1-0 in 1981, Real 3-1 in 2018. The defeat to Liverpool in Paris in 1981 was the last time Real lost a Champions League Final.
Manager – Carlo Ancelotti
Goalkeepers – Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Toni Ribeira, Diego Pinero
Defenders – Marcelo, David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Nacho, Ferland Mendy, Jesus Vallejo, Miguel Gutierrez, Rafael Zamora, Mario Gila, Sergio Santos
Midfielders – Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Lucas Vazquez, Isco, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos, Antonio Blanco, Peter Gonzalez
Attackers – Karim Benzema, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr., Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Mariano Diaz, Juan Miguel Latasa
Manager – Jurgen Klopp
Goalkeepers – Alisson Becker, Caoiminh Kelleher, Adrian, Marcelo Pitaluga
Defenders – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Owen Beck, Rhys Williams
Midfielders – Thiago, Fabinho, Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones, Tyler Morton, Conor Bradley
Attackers – Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino. Diogo Jota, Takumi Minamino, Divock Origi, Kaide Gordon
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You don’t need to make a deposit, or even place another bet to qualify for the offer and the bet should be ready to use in your account, if you qualify, right up until the start of the game.
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Bet365 Sport have marked up Liverpool as the even money favourites to win the final and the Spanish Champions Real are a 3/1 shot. A draw at 90 minutes is 45/16.
Check back to this page over the next few weeks as we bring you more team news ahead of the final plus details of any other offers or promotions that may be made available on it.
When we wrote the first part of this article after the Champions League Semi Final 2nd Leg ties had been concluded, you can see from the section above that Liverpool were the clear favourites to win the game.
However, in the weeks that have passed since then, the odds on the two teams have changed somewhat.
Five days before the game on Saturday 28th May, Liverpool are still around the even money mark to be victorious, while the draw is now 13/5.
However, there has been significant money for Real Madrid over that intervening time period with Los Blancos now rated as a 5/2 chance, half a point shorter than what they were when betting first opened on the games a short time ago.
What this says to me is that while there has been steady money for Liverpool over that time, there has also been significant money on the draw and Real Madrid to win options, suggesting that this final may not be quite so much in favour of Liverpool than was earlier thought.
Since reaching the Champions League Final, Liverpool have added the FA Cup to their trophy cabinet but fell just short in the Premier League title race as Manchester City’s come-from-behind win over Aston Villa saw them pip the Reds to the title by one point.
With that competition now concluded, the Reds full focus will be on this weekend’s Final in Paris but there are some worrying injury developments for Liverpool fans ahead of the game.
On the positive side, Mohammed Salah played the last half hour of the game against Wolves, scoring Liverpool’s second goal in a 3-1 victory, while Virgil van Dijk was an unused substitute in that game, suggesting that both should be fit to play against Real on Saturday.
However, Fabinho was unable to take a place on the bench and he remains a doubt for the game, but the big worry is key midfielder Thiago, who has been sensational over the last few months, who picked up a knock just before half time in the Wolves game and is very doubtful for the final, although not yet ruled out completely.
The midfielder will head for scans on his lower leg injury and the Reds should know early on this week whether the Spaniard is going to be fit enough to play any part in the game.
Divock Origi is also out with a hamstring injury, with the Reds ace receiving a fond farewell at Anfield yesterday following the game with Wolves ahead of his summer move to AC Milan.
Real Madrid have no new injury concerns after they completed their 35th La Liga title-winning season at the weekend with a 0-0 draw at home to Real Betis.
Carlo Ancelotti’s only injury concern is defender David Alaba who has missed the last four games after picking up the adductor injury in their semi-final first leg against Manchester City.
However, Alaba is slated to return to training at some point this week and it is likely the Austrian defender will be fit enough to start, if selected, against Liverpool.
Real should also be able to call on the talents of Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale from the bench if required, with both now fit but not yet in Carlo Ancelotti’s first team plans.
The Spanish Champions should therefore be at full-strength for the Final in Paris.
The Champions League Final will see the world’s best defender go up against the striker who has been the world’s best this season. Karim Benzema has, single-handedly at times, kept Real in this competition in his best goalscoring season ever, netting two hat-tricks in successive games for Real in the knockout stages.
However, he is up against Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and either Matip or Konate (with Joel Matip likely to get the nod in my view) and this battle between the two could well have a major influence on how this final plays out.
Liverpool will know that they cannot afford to give Real the opportunities they afforded Wolves in the first half of Sunday’s game as Benzema will take them, however the return of Van Dijk should result in fewer mistakes.
As incredible as Alexander Arnold is going forward, the Liverpool right back does leave space in behind him and Vinicius Jr’s pace and quality will mean that he could well take full advantage of that space if Real can start to control the game, or hit Liverpool with the diagonal long ball, then Vinicius could exploit that space.
However, the flip side of this is that the Brazilian winger is not the best defensively and Alexander Arnold is one of the most creative players on the Liverpool team and if he can get into advanced positions to get quality crosses into the box, then he could have a major impact on Liverpool’s chances of success.
If Real Madrid have a weak area of the team, it is their back four. They lack pace, they have been exposed several times in this competition and do concede goals. Liverpool’s explosive front three is likely to be Salah, Mane and Diaz and Real’s back four are going to have to be at their very best in order to try and quell the danger posed by the Liverpool attacking trio.
Mo Salah in particular has a grudge to settle after the 2018 final when he was injured early by Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos and forced off the field of play and the Egyptian has already intimated that he feels he owes Real Madrid one for that.
However, it is the explosive form of Luis Diaz allied to the fine goalscoring form of Sadio Mane which will also give Real’s back line real concerns and could mean that you see Casemiro effectively playing as an additional centre back for a large chunk of the game.
Looking at both teams, it looks like being an exciting final. This will be the third time Liverpool have faced both Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti in a Champions League Final and the Reds are 1-1 in the two previous Finals.
With a week to prepare for the game, it will be the first time in a long time Liverpool have had more than just a day or two to get ready for the next game and their form is such that they deserve to be favourites.
Liverpool have lost just three games in ALL competitions this season. Real have lost more than that in the Champions League alone.
So I am backing Liverpool for the win here at even money, and there is a great Bet Boost available for the game which sees Mo Salah to score at any time, Liverpool to lift the trophy and over 9 corners for both teams combined, which is an 11/2 chance.
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