Real Madrid VS Liverpool Match Prediction
2018-05-26
18:45:00
Real Madrid
VS
Liverpool
Our Prediction Tip
Real Madrid will win this match.
2018-05-2618:45:00 Real Madrid will win this match.
Liverpool and Real Madrid, despite having storied histories on their own have only faced off with one another five times down the years. Four of those have come since 2009. In 2009, they met in the Champions League Round of 16. Liverpool dominated the tie to win 5-0 on aggregate thanks to 0-1 win in Madrid and a 4-0 win at home. In 2014, they once again locked horns, but that took place in the group stages. Real Madrid ran the rule over Liverpool at Anfield to win 0-3 before also winning the second meeting albeit, by just one goal to nil, at home. The other meeting took place way back in 1981 in the European Cup Final, what is the equivalent to this match. Liverpool won by a score of 1-0 to win the trophy and deny Madrid a sixth win (at the time, of course).
%HEAD-TO-HEAD-STATS-BANNER%
| Time | Cristiano Ronaldo | Mohamed Salah |
| 1-10 | 2 | 3 |
| 11-20 | 5 | 4 |
| 21-30 | 4 | 5 |
| 31-40 | 4 | 5 |
| 41-half-time | 4 | 6 |
| FIRST HALF | 19 | 23 |
| 46-55 | 9 | 4 |
| 56-65 | 6 | 6 |
| 66-75 | 0 | 4 |
| 76-85 | 11 | 8 |
| 86-full-time | 5 | 3 |
| SECOND HALF | 31 | 25 |
| TOTAL | 50 | 48 |
| Name | Minutes played | Goals scored | Minutes per goal |
Age | Height | Fastest recorded 2017/18 sprint |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 1080 | 15 | 72mins | 33 | 185cm | 31km/h |
| Mohamed Salah | 899 | 10 | 90mins | 25 | 175cm | 33km/h |
| Name | Goals (pens) | Left foot | Right foot | Head | Attempts | Attempts per goal |
Passing accuracy |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 15 (4) | 3 | 10 | 2 | 79 | 5.27 | 81% |
| Mohamed Salah | 10 (0) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 4.10 | 76% |
| Name | League games | League goals (pens) | Cup games* | Cup goals* | Total appearances | Total goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 27 | 26 (3) | 1 | 1 | 28 | 27 |
| Mohamed Salah | 36 | 32 (1) | 1 | 1 | 37 | 33 |
| Name | Appearances | Goals scored | Goals per game |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 160 | 123 | 0.77 |
| Mohamed Salah | 65 | 22 | 0.34 |
Bet365 have the following odds available for this match:
Real Madrid are at 23/20 to win, a draw is at 13/5, and a Liverpool win is at 21/10.
Both of these teams will be back in the Champions League next season after clinching their way back into the competition by virtue of top four finishes in their respective leagues. Liverpool had to wait until the final day of the season to seal their place, but they did so with a win over Brighton which would see them finish fourth. Because of a change in the qualification rules, that is now good for the group stage. Real Madrid had clinched a spot much earlier than the Reds, despite having a down season in the league. They ended up in third place, behind rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
This is a meeting of two of the most successful teams in the history of European football. Real Madrid have been the most successful since the beginning of the European Cup, winning the trophy a startling 12 times in total. They have also finished as the runner-up three times, but the last time they did so came against Liverpool back in 1981. Liverpool, while not having had quite the success of Madrid, have done very well in Europe. They have won 'big ears' five times now, the last of which came in the 2004/05 edition. They have finished as runner-up twice, most recently in 2007 when AC Milan defeated them. Those five wins put them tied for third in Europe for the most wins.
Liverpool's record against Spanish sides within European competition has been very mixed. They have faced Spanish opposition 39 times, and they have won 15 of those matches. The other 24, though, are split squarely between losses and draws. Real Madrid have a record of 11 wins, seven draws, and seven losses in Champions League/European Cup play against English teams, a record that has been padded over the course of the last decade or so.
Both teams are very, very likely to score here, and that can be had for 4/9 odds at Ladbrokes.
Both teams to score more than 3.5 goals combined is at 6/5 via Betfair.
Jurgen Klopp has come up short in the last five Finals in which he has been a part of. The same cannot be said of Zinedine Zidane. Until Liverpool are able to dethrone Madrid, and they will never be able to do that until the very end with their defensive record and Madrid's incredible European fortitude, Los Blancos are favorites. This has been a very high scoring competition, and that should continue here with a fascinating tie full of counter attacking.
Zinedine Zidane looks set to have a full team to pick from ahead of this final. Cristiano Ronaldo had picked up an injury against Bayern at the start of the month, but he shook that off to play a role in the draw against Villarreal on the final day of the La Liga season on Saturday. It is interesting to see how Zidane chooses to line up, but we expect to see him start with the players that have the most experience. If things don't go as planned, then he will be able to turn to young wingers Marco Asensio and Lucas Vasquez.
It's quite obvious to state that the man that everyone is going to have eyes on is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese attacker has gone from flying winger to central forward this year, but his goals haven't dried up in Europe. His UCL record this season includes 15 goals so far, but none of those came against Bayern, so that is a slight worry for them. An even more crucial player is Sergio Ramos, their center back and leader. He must have a fantastic game, as he usually does in these finals, for them to keep Liverpool's vaunted attack out. That is also going to be the task for Casemiro as well, out of his defensive midfield position. Casemiro is the type of player that can stop the attack of the other side with either a great tackle or a tactical foul. If he's caught out of position, Liverpool could really prosper.
Real Madrid have three draws, a win, and a loss in their last five matches:
2-2 draw at Villarreal
6-0 home win vs Celta Vigo
3-2 loss at Sevilla
2-2 draw at Barcelona
2-2 home draw vs Bayern Munich (UCL)
Real Madrid won last season's competition, so they came in to this season's in the group stages. They did not enjoy the best of times in the group, however. They won both times in which they faced Cypriot minnows APOEL, and handsomely, and they beat Borussia Dortmund twice, but against Tottenham they severely struggled. At home, they drew 1-1 with Spurs, and they would lose 3-1 at Wembley to end up in second from the group. That finish gave them a tough draw for the first knockout round, one in which they would face PSG. However, they swatted aside the French side with fairly routine wins in both legs. From there, they didn't get easier opponents.
Juventus, rulers of Italian football, looked to have been put to the sword after the first leg as Real won 0-3 in Turin. But the Old Lady made it interesting with a 1-3 win in Madrid to nearly overturn it. Much like the quarterfinal, the semi-final was very nervy. Real overturned a one goal deficit in the first leg in Munich against Bayern to win 1-2, but they were made to sweat at home in the second as they drew with the Bavarians 2-2 to book their place in the final.
Jurgen Klopp is in almost the exact opposite situation as Zidane for this final. Whereas Zidane has a ton of players to choose from, the German has relatively little. Center back Joel Matip, center midfielders Emre Can and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and right back Joe Gomez are all out of the showpiece event. Chamberlain has been one of their best players this season so far, bursting onto the scene after joining from Arsenal. As for formation, it's an interesting choice. Klopp played a 4-2-3-1 in the win over Brighton most recently, but a return to the 4-3-3- and a restored James Milner in midfield- seems to be the most likely and sensible choice.
The front three of Liverpool will be ones to watch in this match, with each having scored nine of more goals in the competition so far. Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino each have 11 and Sadio Mane has nine to his name. However, it's another man in James Milner, who might just be the most important player in the game. The Englishman has eight assists in the tournament already, and his industrious play as well as his bags of experience will be invaluable for them. They will hope he is healthy enough for this huge match. Another man to watch is the goalkeeper Loris Karius. He's been error prone, nearly letting in a howler from long range against Roma by misjudging the flight of the ball. His team have scored 46 goals in the Champions League, but they have still had to cut it close at times. There can be no mistakes from him if he is to help hoist the trophy.
Liverpool have two wins, two losses, and a draw in their last five matches:
4-0 home win vs Brighton
1-0 loss at Chelsea
4-2 loss vs Roma (UCL)
0-0 home draw vs Stoke
5-2 home win vs Roma (UCL)
Liverpool overcame Hoffenheim in the playoff round just to make it to the group stages after they had finished fourth in last season's Premier League. From there, they came through a group that included Sevilla, Spartak Moscow, and Maribor. They didn't always play at their best, but they picked up three wins and three draws to top the group, scoring seven goals in two separate matches and only being held under two goals once. In the round of 16, they truly showed their potential with a 5-0 win in Portugal over FC Porto.
That saw them through comfortably to the quarterfinals, where they would dispatch English rivals Manchester City with wins in both legs. In the semis, they were coasting with a 5-0 lead in the home leg before matters got tougher. They won that leg 5-2 and ended up clinging on to win the tie after losing the second leg in Rome 4-2.
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