8. Poch vs Klopp

One of them will lift their first major trophy for their current club….and its the big one!

The Champions League has been rather underwhelming the last couple of years. Not this year though, pish your pants excitement! The final will need to be something special to match either of the semis!

Wanda Metropolitano

Unlike the lesser stated Europa League venue, this is a proper football stadium. No stands 500 miles away from the pitch and a full capacity expected with a proper atmosphere. Although getting a ticket wont be easy. With a capacity of 63,500 ,the two clubs received 17,000 tickets each. Clearly a long way short of meeting demand.

Another 4,000 tickets were made available to the general public, and the remaining 25,500 will be allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters. UEFA living up to their usual patter by patching true fans.

How did we get here?

Liverpool produced one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history to beat Barcelona 4-0, overturning a 3-goal first-leg deficit and advancing to their second successive final with a 4-3 aggregate victory.

Two goals each from stand-in forward Divock Origi and halftime substitute Georginio Wijnaldum left Barcelona utterly shell-shocked after a Liverpool performance full of passion, belief and determination. A special night for the Anfield faithful with a trip to their second successive Champions League final. In 2018 they lost out 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kiev.

Lucas Moura scored a stoppage-time winner to complete a hat-trick and seal a sensational 3-2 comeback win for Tottenham Hotspur to take them past Ajax on the away goals rule. Spurs looked down and out at halftime after Matthijs de Ligt’s fifth-minute header and a superb 35th minute effort by Hakim Ziyech put Ajax in complete command of the tie having won the first leg 1-0 in London. Lucas Mouras performance stunned the Johan Cruyff ArenA, 24 hours after Liverpool’s miracle comeback, Tottenham produced their own heroics to reach their first European Cup final.

XI

The fitness of Harry Kane is the headline selection headache for Pochettino with the England captain still recovering from an ankle injury picked up in the quarter-final first leg win over Manchester City.

The man himself says he’s “ready to go” after channeling his inner Usain Bolt after the semi final win, but it’ll be down to his manager to make the call. Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose are expected to be it after training knocks.

For the Reds, midfielder Naby Keita will miss the game with a muscle strain with Roberto Firminos fitness still as questionable as his teeth. He is the only member of the squad who faces a late race for fitness with Andy Robertson, who felt a calf strain against Wolves, declared good to go.

Predicted line ups –

Lloris	Alisson
Trippier	Alexander-Arnold
Alderweireld	Matip
Vertonghen	Van Dijk
Rose	Robertson
Sissoko	Fabinho
Wanyama	Henderson
Alli	Wijnaldum
Erikson	Mane
Son	Salah
Moura	Firmino

Whats the odds?

Odds to lift the trophy;
Tottenham – 6/4
Liverpool – 1/2

The psychology of a one-country final makes this one tough to call. Liverpool are clearly the better team – their league position illustrates that fairly neatly – and they arrive in Madrid in better form too. The previous meetings this year have both finished 2-1 to Liverpool, close ties but 6 points from 6 could be a physiological factor come Saturday.

Prediction Tottenham 0 – 2 Liverpool

Enjoy folks, Cheers!