After 11 months, 125 games and enough big matches to make even the European Super League jealous, it all comes down to this.
The 2024 Champions League final will see Real Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund under the Wembley arch on Saturday night. Dortmund are bidding to win just their second European crown, while Madrid are aiming to extend their record to a whopping 15, having last won the competition two years ago against Liverpool.
Last season's final saw Manchester City edge out Inter Milan in Istanbul but now the final returns to the home of English football for the third time in 13 years. Jude Bellingham will be hoping to condemn his former club to more misery and in doing so cap an incredible debut campaign with Real, while ex-team-mate Marco Reus wants to end his legendary Dortmund career with the highest of highs after losing to rivals Bayern Munich at Wembley back in 2013.
So who'll lift the trophy? The Mirror Football team have weighed in with their predictions.
John Cross
You do not get many one-sided Champions League finals - but I think Real Madrid will dominate this one. And Jude Bellingham will love the stage, make it his home and show why he is not just England’s most exciting player but potentially the best player in the world, too.
Bellingham is 20, has gone to the biggest club in the world and made it look like home from day one. What an incredible player and
mentality. What a story for the final to be at Wembley and a chance for Bellingham to win the biggest prize at his national stadium.
Borussia Dortmund are the rank outsiders anyway and have defied the odds to reach Wembley with a collection of ageing stars, players with a point to prove and they have rode their luck at times. But I just think Madrid know what it takes, they get the job done and, even though nerves often dictate games do not always go to plan, this club has 14 titles behind them.
It’s Madrid all the way.
Jurgen Klopp's approach with Robert Lewandowski bodes well for Darwin Nunez
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Real Madrid
Dan Marsh
It feels like Real Madrid are almost unconquerable when it comes to the Champions League at times and Carlo Ancelotti's side fully warrant their billing of red-hot favourites heading into Saturday's season finale. But I'll go against the grain and back Borussia Dortmund to achieve the improbable at Wembley.
Dortmund came up short in the same venue against their arch-rivals Bayern Munich just over a decade ago and have the chance to exorcise those demons against the most decorated team in European football.
Everyone loves an underdog and there is an abundance of quality and pedigree in Dortmund's ranks - even without Jude Bellingham, who will line up against them rather than with them this year. I fancy more late drama and reckon Dortmund will nick it in extra-time.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Real Madrid (AET)
Jude Bellingham is aiming to win Real Madrid's 15th Champions League in his first season (Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)Your turn! Who'll win - Borussia Dortmund or Real Madrid? Give us your score prediction in the comments section
Daniel Orme
Yes, I know it’s boring but Real Madrid just know how to win Champions League titles. There’s a reason why Los Blancos sit at the top of the tree with 14 European trophies in their cabinet.
While Borussia Dortmund have done excellently to reach the final, they won’t have enough to halt Real Madrid’s relentless pursuit of another crown. There is just a huge chasm when it comes to quality between the two sides.
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr will be the main threats for the Spanish giants, while Toni Kroos will want to go out on a high - particularly against his former foes from his time at Bayern Munich.
Dortmund will have their moments, particularly through Niclas Fullkrug - who terrorised PSG in the semi-finals. Similarly to Kroos, Marco Reus will want to depart the club with a Champions League trophy under his arm. But the German side will fall just short.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Real Madrid
Mark Jones
I'll preface this by saying this is my prediction after 90 minutes, because once that stoppage time board goes up Real Madrid become a different animal. But instead of backing the overwhelming favourites for a 15th European crown let us live a little shall we?
Dortmund are going to have to be very lucky for this to come off, just as they were against PSG when their woodwork was struck six times across both legs, but if the ageless, but Euros-less, Mats Hummels and the impressive Nico Schlotterbeck can hold firm then why can't they do it?
Haller back in Dortmund training six months after testicular cancer diagnosis
We haven't had a left-field European champion that no-one would have predicted before the tournament since Porto and Liverpool's back-to-back successes in 2004 and 2005, so it's about time. All hail the Yellow Wall.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund have reached the final against the odds (ANP via Getty Images)Felix Keith
Real Madrid are the kings of the Champions League and Carlo Ancelotti is the unflustered master of big finals.
The Italian is taking charge in his sixth Champions League final and has only suffered defeat in one of his previous five showpieces with AC Milan and Real. It will be Ancelotti’s 1,324th match as a manager and Real’s sixth Champions League final in 10 years. You get the picture: they are built for this.
“My team gives me confidence: they’re focused, in Champions League mode,” Ancelotti said in his press conference. They’d give me confidence, too, Carlo. Their pedigree is quite something and I fancy Vinicius Junior to shine at Wembley on Saturday evening.
Dortmund have shown remarkable togetherness and determination to reach the final and the manner in which they got past PSG in the semi-final was hugely impressive. Mats Hummels was outstanding in the middle of defence, but they also rode their luck and that isn’t sustainable.
Niclas Fullkrug isn’t going to get an easy ride against Antonio Rudiger, who relished the battle with Harry Kane in the semis, and Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi could get too deep to spring dangerous counter-attacks.
I would love Dortmund to do it – Edin Terzic’s story of a fan turned manager is a fantastic one – but I fear the Real Madrid machine will chew them up and spit them out to register a 15th triumph in the competition.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid
Alan Smith
Dortmund have been rather fortunate on their way to this showdown - the PSG win was more a consequence of their opponents' failure to finish than anything else - and that luck is bound to run out in the final. Real not only possess a far more talented squad but they are also the kings of this competition with an unmatched 14 titles.
Far better teams than Dortmund have crumbled against the mythical power of Madrid in the Champions League. The desired narrative would be for Jude Bellingham to make the decisive contribution, against his former club and at Wembley, but Vinicius Jr is the one who can set Carlo Ancelotti's team on their way.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Real Madrid
Nathan Ridley
At 7:59pm I'll probably get my hopes up but only a fool would bet against Real Madrid in a Champions League final. Borussia Dortmund have been brilliant - at times - on their way to Wembley but Los Blancos are on a different level to even Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid and Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain.
Carlo Ancelotti has constructed a team who specialise in taking the game by the scruff of the neck after the 60-minute mark and while I can see Dortmund troubling Real beforehand, I think the Italian's tactical tweaks will ultimately prove too much for Edin Terzic to handle. Hopefully, though, I'll end up looking the fool, so we see Mats Hummels and Marcos Reus make the long walk up the Wembley steps and this time lift the trophy after their 2013 heartbreak.
Prediction:Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Real Madrid
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
