Real Madrid to lift yet another CL trophy in epic
All eyes will be on Saturday night's UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France. Both sides have come through epic encounters in fixture-heavy calendars, with the Reds falling short of winning back the Premier League by a very slim margin. Los Blancos were well clear in La Liga and came back from the dead twice in scarcely believable fashion against both Chelsea and Manchester City to set up the possibility of winning their 14th trophy in the competition. Read our preview here:
Mané man
Though football is not an individual sport, attention is increasingly skewed away from the collective by many fans and observers. Jürgen Klopp's side manages to embody the best of both worlds tactically, and whilst joint Golden Boot winner Mo Salah, by his own stratospheric standards, has had a definite cooling off in form this calendar year, teammate Sadio Mané continues to rise in prominence. Having both won AFCON and sent Senegal to the World Cup with winning penalties, the 30 year old has combined major success for the Lions of Teranga with perhaps his best year yet at club level for the Reds, blasting in 23 goals in all competitions and being in with a serious chance of winning the next Ballon d'Or award. Elsewhere, Thiago and Fabinho should be back in the side to ensure a very intriguing battle in midfield takes place.
Cama chameleon
David Alaba will be given as much time as possible to prove his fitness ahead of Saturday, with Nacho on standby should the Austrian utility player not line up in the heart of defence. With Gareth Bale unlikely to be considered for selection, the rest of Carlo Ancelotti's squad should be available for selection. Eduardo Camavinga's cameo role off the bench against Man City was a masterstroke, and the young French prospect could be used from the start or, failing that, will be given more minutes in the final, especially to help temper the relentless pace of the counter-press and the game as a whole when it becomes stretched in the second half.
Betting tip
It promises to be a mouth-watering contest without being a repeat of the mistake-ridden 2018 final. Real Madrid have proven beyond any doubt this year that they can never be counted out, even when losing by more one than goal, and generally get stronger the longer a match goes on for. As a result, bet365's odds of 17.00 for yet another Champions League for Ancelotti's charges after extra-time looks more than viable.
