The Champions League finally reaches its conclusion tomorrow evening as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain lock horns in Lisbon.
The qualifying rounds for next season’s competition have already started but we’re yet to find out who will be crowned the new kings of Europe.
Football purists maintain that the Champions League should exclusively be for the champions of each country’s top league, so on that basis there aren’t too many sides more fitting for the finale than these two.
Bayern coasted to their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title this season, while PSG secured Ligue 1 honours for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
However, only one of them can add this year’s Champions League to their collection of honours and ahead of the action, we’ve outlined everything you need to know.
After humiliating Barcelona in the quarter-finals before comprehensively despatching Lyon in the semis, Bayern start as 21/20 favourites to win the match.
The German side have won the competition five times and they’re odds-on favourites to lift the trophy again at 3/5.
But PSG are no pushovers and they’ll fancy their chances at 23/10 to win in 90 minutes, while they’re 27/20 to go all the way.
Both sides are frightening going forward and we go odds-on at 19/20 for there to be over 3.5 goals for the fifth time in the last seven finals.
Bayern hitman Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed yet another remarkable season, scoring a stunning 55 goals in total, including 15 in this competition.
The Poland international is by far and away the likeliest anytime goalscorer at 8/13, while he’s going at 13/5 to open the scoring.
Despite not scoring himself, Neymar was pivotal in his side’s semi-final defeat of RB Leipzig and he’s 6/4 to get on the scoresheet, or 9/1 to score first in a PSG win.
After the longest campaign in history, the Champions League reaches its conclusion tomorrow – and what a treat we have in store.
Two European giants, purring after incredible years, ready for a cat fight on the world’s biggest stage. One side will finish top of the food chain while the loser will be sent home with their tail between their legs, with little time to recover ahead of the new season.
For Bayern, it’s business as usual as they prepare for their fourth Champions League final since 2010. Yet for PSG, it’s unchartered territory and a chance to repay the faith and backing shown by their Qatari owners.
The Germans are favourites and for good reason. They’ve won every game they’ve played since football resumed and they followed up a 7-1 aggregate crushing of Chelsea by putting eight past Barcelona, Europe’s dominant force of old.
Lewandowski has proved himself to be one of the world’s most prolific strikers once again and he’s flanked by a supporting cast packed full of talent, with Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller and Ivan Perisic returning their fair share of goals.
They also have one of the shining lights of football’s future in left-back Alphonso Davies, who has taken to the Champions League like a seasoned pro and will relish the opportunity to test himself against Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Taking home Europe’s biggest prize would cap off a sensational season for Bayern, but they’ll be wary of PSG’s threats after the French side finally ended their curse to reach their first Champions League final.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel will be desperate to get one over on his old rivals and in Neymar, Mbappe and Mauro Icardi, they have a front three to rival any in world football.
The Parisians showed grit, resilience and passion to break Atalanta hearts in stoppage time, before they eased past Leipzig in the semis without getting out of second gear.
Yet in Bayern they have the biggest test of all and one they’ve spent some time preparing for.
PSG made a statement when they broke the bank to bring Neymar in from Barcelona in 2017 but the Brazilian’s cruel luck with injuries has hindered his side’s Champions League progress in recent seasons.
But their talisman is fit and firing and football fans across the globe will be licking their lips at Neymar’s impending battle with Lewandowski, as they look to prove themselves as Europe’s best this season.
