This is it, Liverpool head to Paris to face Real Madrid in the Champions League Final on Saturday evening, and this is the Reds’ chance to make this season utterly unforgettable.
21 years on from 2001, Liverpool are on for the treble again, but in order to secure their third trophy of the season, they have to get past this brilliant Real Madrid team.
There is so much history heading into this game. The 2018 Champions League final remains fresh in everyone’s memories, while fans of a certain vintage will remember the 1981 final in Paris.
Factor in the history that Carlo Ancelotti and his AC Milan teams have with Liverpool in Champions League finals, and you have a game that should be packed full of drama and narrative.
If Liverpool are to claim their seventh European Cup they will have to be at their very best here, and with that in mind, we’ve had a go at predicting the Reds’ starting XI for this one.
We think that Jurgen Klopp will make three changes from the team that beat Wolves last weekend.
This is arguably Liverpool’s strongest team on paper, but that isn’t to say that there aren’t a few massive decisions for Klopp to make.
Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson pretty much pick themselves here, but Klopp will have something of a selection headache when choosing between Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip.
We’re backing Matip to get the nod. He’s been there and done it in a Champions League final before, and while Konate has been fantastic this season, his mistake against Wolves last weekend showed a weakness in his skillset that Klopp simply can’t risk.
Fabinho returns to the XI after injury, and while there have been concerns about Thiago’s fitness, if there was ever a game where you’re going to risk a player like Thiago, it’s this one.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz have cemented themselves as Liverpool’s strongest front three in recent months, and we fully expect that trio to start here.
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