2022 Uefa Champions League final: Liverpool vs. Real Madrid preview, predictions, TV, live stream

The Uefa Champions League trophy on display in Paris

(Image credit: Boris Streubel/Uefa via Getty Images)

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1. Match details: kick-off time, TV coverage and live stream
2. Previous finals and head-to-head
3. Route to the final
4. The bosses: Jürgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti
5. Possible starting XIs
6. Predictions: who will win the Champions League final?

last updated 27 May 2022

In a repeat of the 1981 and 2018 finals, Liverpool and Real Madrid will lock horns for the third time in European football’s showpiece match. In the European Cup final in Paris 41 years ago the English club were victorious 1-0 thanks to Alan Kennedy’s winner. While in 2018 in Kyiv, the Spaniards lifted the Champions League trophy thanks to a Gareth Bale-inspired 3-1 victory.

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Real, the world’s most valuable football club, come into the final on a high having finished 13 points clear of Barcelona to win the La Liga title. Liverpool missed out on a historic quadruple after Manchester City pipped them to the Premier League title by just one point last weekend. However, the Anfield side still have their eyes on a third trophy this season after previously winning the English League Cup and FA Cup.

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German head coach Jürgen Klopp, 54, is aiming to win his second Champions League with Liverpool. The Reds beat Tottenham Hotspur in an all-English final in Madrid in 2019. Real’s Carlo Ancelotti has his eyes on a record fourth career title in what will be his fifth final. The 62-year-old Italian, who previously managed Liverpool’s rivals Everton, led AC Milan to victory in 2003 and 2007 and also won the trophy in 2014 in his first spell as Real boss.

Michael Owen, who played for both clubs in his career, does not think that the final will be such a close affair. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the former England striker is backing Liverpool to “blow away” the Spaniards and predicts a “3-1 or 3-0” victory for the Merseysiders. “I think they could beat them reasonably convincingly because they are an exceptional team at the minute and are too good for Madrid.”

Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is also “confident” that his former team will beat Real. Speaking on Sky Bet’s The Overlap podcast, the pundit acknowledged that “of course, Real can win – it’s a one-off game”, but believes that the Reds will come through. On the same podcast Gary Neville said he doesn’t think Liverpool will lift the trophy. When discussing Real’s ability for comebacks, he picked out their midfield as the key area. “I look at Real Madrid’s midfield in Casemiro, [Toni] Kroos, [Luka] Modric – plus the two that come in late with [Federico] Valverde and [Eduardo] Camavinga – those five players drive them right from the first minute and right to the end,” Neville said. “I think Liverpool’s midfield is their weak point and in the last 15 minutes that midfield for Real Madrid – the five of them combined – will see them win the game on Saturday.”

“On paper”, Liverpool are the “better” team, said Paul Kasabian on Bleacher Report. But after their “sensational and mystifying” Champions League run, Real Madrid appear to be “a team of destiny after living on the edge for the entire knockout round and somehow surviving”. In the end, “all signs point to a tremendous finish” to one of the most exciting knockout rounds in history. “The guess here is Liverpool wins a classic, 3-2.”

Liverpool go into the final as favourites and “rightfully so after a stellar season”, said Matt Verri in the London Evening Standard. Real captain Karim Benzema, the tournament’s top scorer this season with 15 goals, and his strike partner Vinicius Jr will “fancy their chances of getting success against Liverpool’s high-line”. However, the Reds are the “more complete team” and are well placed to secure a third trophy of the season. “Liverpool to win, 3-1.”

“Talk about a tough game to call,” said Ben Knapton on SportsMole. After their penalty shoot-out wins in the League Cup and FA Cup finals, Klopp’s side “may be taken all the way to spot kicks again”. “We believe that Liverpool’s recent experience from 12 yards will help them get their hands on Europe’s biggest prize for the seventh time and end the Real fairytale. Liverpool 2-2 Real Madrid (A.E.T - Liverpool to win on penalties).”

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Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.