The 2018/19 UEFA Champions League final will be played on Saturday 1st June at the Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid.
Tottenham Hotspur will take on Liverpool in what is an all English Premier League affair. It is the second time in the history of the competition two teams from England have met in the final with Manchester United defeating Chelsea in 2007/08 on penalties.
This is the first Champions League final in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. They have twice won the UEFA Cup and once the old Cup Winners’ Cup but have never before graced the final of the Champions League.
Tottenham certainly earned their place in the final having come through the group stages by the skin of their teeth. Mauricio Pochettino’s team finished second in the group which contained Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.
They were paired with Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 and had little trouble seeing off the Bundesliga club 4-0 on aggregate. However, things became more difficult in the quarter-final thanks to a meeting with Manchester City.
Spurs secured a 1-0 win at home in the first leg, keeping a crucial clean sheet and despite losing 4-3 in the second leg, they went through dramatically on away goals. The drama did not end there and having lost 1-0 at home to Ajax in the first leg of the semi-final and fallen 2-0 behind in the second leg, Tottenham Hotspur staged a dramatic comeback to win 3-2 in injury time.
Liverpool also had a tough group campaign and finished second to Paris Saint-Germain. This saw a tie with Bayern Munich in the round of 16 which Liverpool won 3-1, with all the goals coming in Germany in the second leg.
The quarter-final draw was kind and Liverpool had little trouble in seeing off Porto 6-1 on aggregate to meet Barcelona in the semi-final. Liverpool lost 3-0 in the Camp Nou and it seemed as though the tie was up. However, a superb second leg at Anfield saw Liverpool win 4-0 and progress to the final.
Both teams have been involved in some of the best moments we have seen in recent Champions League campaigns. Trends show they have both scored high numbers of goals when required, with Spurs scoring 3 or more goals in three of their knockout games and Liverpool matching them.
Team news and Tottenham Hotspur hope to have Harry Kane fit and available. It remains to be seen if the England international will start or have a place on the bench. Lucas Moura will hope to be in the starting XI following his heroics in the semi-final.
Liverpool should be at full strength for this match. Roberto Firmino is the main doubt but should start the match. Naby Kieta is injured but may not have been selected anyway with James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Liverpool have the experience of last season’s final to draw upon and a great record over Spurs. Liverpool have won nine of the last fourteen meetings between the teams in all competitions, losing just one. We should see goals in another exciting Champions League final and one which sees Liverpool lifting the trophy.