Champions League
Conference League
Premier League
Published on May, 31 2024
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid meet at Wembley on Saturday for the UEFA Champions League final in an ultimate David vs. Goliath scenario. As always you can catch coverage of all the action across CBS, Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network. Both sides are former winners, although that is also lopsided with the Spanish giants seeking an unprecedented 15th continental crown and the Germans looking to add their second 27 years after the first.
BVB saw off Paris Saint-Germain to get here while Los Blancos knocked off Bayern Munich to prevent an all-Bundesliga final and Edin Terzic vs. Carlo Ancelotti promises to be an enthralling watch. The Italian tactician is seeking his fifth UCL title while Real's metronomic midfielder Toni Kroos is also bowing out with the La Liga champions here after announcing his decision to retire after UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil.
So far, Braga, Napoli and Union Berlin were seen off in the group stage and RB Leipzig and then Manchester City followed in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals before Bayern in the semifinals. Real are in their 18th Champions League final with only three defeats to their name and it has been 43 years since they lost to Liverpool in 1981 with eight consecutive final wins.
A treble awaits with La Liga and the Supercopa already secured and a 25-game unbeaten run will have Dortmund worried ahead of this one. Ancelotti's side have also scored in each of their away game in 2023-24 although BVB are this season's defensive kings in the UCL with Gregor Kobel boasting six clean sheets.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
Real Madrid's key concern
As well as David Alaba who is also missing this summer's Euros with an ACL problem, Aurelien Tchouameni is missing out after injuring his foot and could yet also suffer the same fate in Germany despite being picked for Les Bleus. Ancelotti's solution is readymade with Nacho Fernandez likely to captain the side from central defense alongside Antonio Rudiger with the Real veteran also bowing out after this one like Kroos.
Real: Jude Bellingham is fit and raring to go but spare a thought for Andriy Lunin who was expected to lose out to Thibaut Courtois between the sticks but might not even be part of the squad for the game due to an untimely case of flu. Otherwise, Kroos should start alongside Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde although Luka Modric is not expected to start. Joselu is unlikely to force his way in ahead of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior up top despite being the semifinal hero.
Potential Real XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior.
How to watch and odds
Head to head
Dortmund and Real have met 14 times in the Champions League with the Spaniards boasting six wins to the Germans' three. Their most recent meeting came back in 2017-18 which saw Los Blancos win both group games while BVB won a 2013-14 quarterfinal second leg 2-0 despite a 3-0 first leg loss which saw them eliminated. This is undoubtedly the biggest ever game between the two despite winning one semifinal apiece against each other in years gone by.
Prediction
Real should have enough to win this one despite Dortmund's excellent defense so expect Bellingham to haunt his former club and potentially score the winning goal. Pick: Dortmund 0, Real 2.
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