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Liverpool vs Real Madrid news: Reds to secure Champions League glory with victory in Paris

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp's men can get over their Premier League title disappointment and land a cup treble by seeing off the Spanish giants in the French capital on Saturday night.

Liverpool may have come up a point short in the title race but they still have the opportunity to complete a remarkable campaign by lifting the Champions League trophy for a seventh time.

With the Carabao Cup and FA Cup safely in the bag, victory in Paris on Saturday night would mean a sweep of the cup competitions and make Sunday's parade through the streets of Liverpool that much sweeter.

Real Madrid have shown a remarkable refusal to be beaten after edging past PSG, Chelsea and, most dramatically, Manchester City but could the final prove a step too far?

The bookmakers fancy Liverpool to atone for their defeat to Madrid in the 2018 final but Real - the 13-time winners of this trophy - can never be written off.

When: Saturday, May 28, 20:00 BST

Where: Paris

How to watch: BT Sport 1, BT Sport 1 and YouTube

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the ref for Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Clement Turpin is the man in the middle for the Paris showdown.

The Frenchman took charge of last season's Europa League final between Manchester United and Villarreal, booking four players, while he reffed Real Madrid's 3-1 quarter-final, first leg win at Chelsea, showing just two yellows.

He was also on duty at the 2018 World Cup in Russia so has plenty of big-match experience.

Season stats 2021/22: All matches (35), yellows (107), reds (11), penalties (15)

Recent form

Liverpool ended the Premier League campaign with six wins and a draw but that still wasn't enough to reel in Manchester City.
During that run they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final on penalties.
Since that shootout victory two weeks ago, they've scored a 2-1 win at Southampton and a 3-1 home victory over Wolves. They showed their character by coming from an early goal down in both matches.
Liverpool reached the Champions League final with a 5-2 aggregate victory over Villarreal, winning the home leg 2-0 and then overcoming a 2-0 first-half deficit in Spain to triumph 3-2.

Overall, they've played six fixtures so far in May, the only blemish being a 1-1 home draw against Tottenham.

Real Madrid wrapped up their domestic title for the 35th time by beating Espanyol 4-0 at the end of April.
Since then, they've produced a remarkable late comeback to beat Manchester City 3-1 in extra-time but, perhaps with their foot off the pedal, managed just five points from the final 12 available in La Liga.
Carlo Ancelotti's men lost 1-0 at Atletico Madrid, thrashed Levante 6-0, drew 1-1 at Cadiz and ended with a 0-0 home draw against Real Betis last weekend.

Liverpool and Real Madrid players in form

Sadio Mane has been Liverpool's most prolific striker over the last couple of months.
The Senegalese frontman has netted nine times in his last 13 games and notched his 16th Premier League goal of the season with the Reds' equaliser against Wolves last weekend.
Luis Diaz has been an instant hit since joining from Porto in the January transfer window, scoring and assisting goals and being a great outlet down the left flank.

He was man of the match in the FA Cup final.

Alisson Becker shared the Golden Glove with Manchester City's Ederson after 20 clean sheets and has made vital one-on-one stops in recent matches.
Karim Benzema Real Madrid
For Real Madrid, Rodrygo scored two 90th-minute goals in that wild second leg against Manchester City to completely turn the game on its head and he has five goals in his last six appearances.
Vinicius Junior bagged a hat-trick in the 6-0 rout of Levante just over a fortnight ago as well as scoring in the first leg against Manchester City.
Karim Benzema, who scored against Liverpool in the 2018 final, netted three times across the two games against City having earlier scored a hat-trick in the 3-1 success at Chelsea.
The prolific Frenchman has 49 goals in 52 games for club and country this season and he's the top scorer in the 2021/22 Champions League charts with 15.
He was voted Real's Player of the Season earlier this week.

Previous meetings

Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid (April 14, 2021)

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final tie, Liverpool couldn't find a way past the Real Madrid defence and crashed out in an empty Anfield with crowds not allowed due to Covid.

They had their chances though, Mo Salah guilty of spurning two good openings and James Milner forcing a smart save from Thibaut Courtois.

For the visitors, a Benzema shot hit the post but Real were happy enough to see out the game and set up a semi-final against Chelsea.

Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool (April 6, 2021)

Liverpool had to field centre-back stand-ins Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak and were made to pay in a game played at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano due to renovation work taking place at the Bernabeu.

Madrid youngster Vinicius Junior scored twice (27 and 65) while Marco Asensio was also on target in the first half as the hosts dominated the shot count.
Salah's goal six minutes after the break had reduced the deficit to 2-1 but the hosts were too strong and deserved their victory.

Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool (May 26, 2018)

Salah was in sensational form heading to Kiev for the 2018 Champions League final but lasted just 30 minutes after Sergio Ramos wrestled him to the floor, causing a shoulder injury.
Still 0-0 after 51 minutes, the second half became a nightmare for Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius as his throw out was diverted back into the net by Benzema before he let a Gareth Bale hit-and-hope squirm through his fingers late on to seal Liverpool's fate.
Mane had prodded in an equaliser after 55 minutes but Bale had restored Real's lead with a worldie overhead kick which Karius could do nothing about.

Past meetings

Liverpool wins: 3
Draws: 1
Real Madrid wins: 4
Liverpool scored: 8
Real Madrid scored: 10

Managers' thoughts

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on having the 'favourite' tag ahead of the final: "If you look at how Real Madrid celebrate the comebacks, from my point of view it's them. But I want us to be the same level, want to be us in this game."

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said: "We've had a brilliant season. We deserve to be here. We are full of desire, we are thrilled to be here and we are here to win."

Predicted Liverpool vs Real Madrid teams

The Reds have started to feel the effects of their heavy workload in recent matches, with several top stars picking up injuries.

Salah made a scoring return from the subs bench against Wolves last weekend so gets the green light, while Virgil van Dijk, who missed Liverpool's last two games of the campaign, will also return.

In midfield, first-choice duo Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho have been doubts in the build-up but both have returned to training.
Klopp faces a big decision on whether they're ready to start. If both are ruled out, James Milner would likely come in alongside Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita.
Up front, in-form Diaz is likely to start alongside Mane and Salah while Ibrahima Konate has been a regular in the Champions League so may get the nod ahead of Joel Matip.

Possible Liverpool starting line-up: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Thiago, Henderson, Fabinho, Mane, Jota, Diaz.

Real Madrid's team selection is easier with everyone fit after David Alaba returned to training in midweek.
Veterans Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro can be pencilled in which means the hugely promising Eduardo Camavinga will likely have to start on the bench.

Man City tormentor Rodrygo is set to be used as an impact sub again.

Possible Real Madrid starting line-up: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Benzema.

Liverpool vs Real Madrid prediction

Liverpool were a team full of exciting possibilities in 2018 but Real Madrid's greater know-how won the day.

But having won the Champions League the following year and hoisted a series of trophies since then, this time the Reds will be far better prepared to get the job done.

Real Madrid deserve huge respect but they aren't great defensively and this is where their charmed run comes to an end.

Take Liverpool to wrap it up in 90 minutes via a 3-1 scoreline.

READ MORE: The all-time greatest Liverpool XI based on former players' selections

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