Champions League final team guide: Tottenham v Liverpool
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Preview and odds ahead of the 2019 Champions League final
With the 2019 Champions League final on the horizon, we preview the match and look at the two sides who will be playing in the showpiece event.
The match takes place in Madrid and will be played at the Wanda Metropolitano, home of Atletico Madrid.
Who is in the Champions League final?
This year’s Champions League final will be an all-English affair, the second all-English European final this season after Chelsea beat Arsenal in the Europa League final.
Tottenham will play Liverpool in Madrid for a shot at the Champions League trophy, which will kick-off at 8pm on Saturday 1st June.
Club Overview – Tottenham
Tottenham have an abundance of English talent running through their side, with Harry Kane at the forefront of that. They also have the likes of Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose and Harry Winks in their ranks.
This will be the club’s first appearance in a Champions League final, in only their fourth competition appearance in their history.
The Lilywhites have won three European cups in their history, starting with the Cup Winners Cup in 1963, followed by the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in 1972 and 1984.
Spurs are managed by Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is a former professional footballer himself. He played as a centre-back for teams such as Espanyol, Bordeaux and most famously Paris Saint-Germain. He started his coaching career at former side Espanyol before moving to Southampton in 2013, where he had one season in charge before moving to Tottenham in 2014.
Club Overview – Liverpool
Liverpool are a rejuvenated side from what they were only a few years ago, and have become one of the most exciting sides to watch in world football. The front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are always a force to be reckoned with, and they’ve got one of the world best defenders at the heart of their defence in Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool are already five times Champions League winners, with their last win in the tournament coming in dramatic fashion back in 2005 when they came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties in Istanbul. Prior to that, they won the trophy in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984. They finished runners-up in last year’s Champions League after losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in the final, hosted in Kiev.
They’ve also won the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) on three occasions, in 1973, 1976 and 2001, and won the UEFA Super Cup three times too (1997, 2001, 2005).
The Reds are managed by German Jurgen Klopp. He’s a former professional footballer around the lower German leagues, with Mainz 05 being the biggest club he played for. After his retirement from playing in 2001, he went on to become the Mainz 05 head-coach the following season, where he spent seven years at the helm. In 2008, he moved to Borussia Dortmund. He guided the German side to successive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012. He also led them to a runners-up finish in the 2013 Champions League, losing to Bayern Munich in the final.
Route to the final
Tottenham made it out of the group stage as runners-up in the final group stage match. Having lost to Inter Milan at the San Siro and Barcelona at Wembley Stadium in their first two games, they picked up four points in the next two against PSV Eindhoven, drawing in Eindhoven and winning 2-1 at Wembley. A 1-0 home win over Inter followed before a 1-1 draw away at Barcelona took them through to the knock-out stages, finishing on eight points and making it though on head-to-head away goals.
Spurs then went on to beat Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate in the Round of 16, winning 3-0 at home and 1-0 in Dortmund. They knocked out Premier League champions Manchester City in the quarter-finals. The Lilywhites won 1-0 in the first European match at their new stadium before losing 4-3 at the Etihad, a scoreline which sent them through on away goals. They followed that with a dramatic last-gasp win over AFC Ajax in the semis, coming from 3-0 down with 30 minutes to play to draw the tie 3-3 and make it to the Madrid final on away goals.
Liverpool followed the same path as Spurs, making it out of the group as runners-up on the final group stage match. Despite losing all three away ties against group rivals Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade, they made it through on nine points thanks to winning all three fixtures at Anfield. They were joint with Napoli on nine points, but made it through by virtue of goals scored, scoring nine in comparison to Napoli’s seven.
The Reds then came up against Bayern Munich in the Round of 16, winning 3-1 on aggregate after an impressive 3-1 away win at the Allianz Arena. A convincing 6-1 aggregate win over Porto followed in the quarter-finals, before a whole lot of drama in the semis. They were 3-0 down against Barcelona after a Lionel Messi masterclass at the Nou Camp in the first leg, before an inspired comeback saw Liverpool win 4-0 to make it through to their second successive final.
Key Players
Likely Tottenham XI: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Wanyama, Eriksen; Alli; Kane, Son.
Likely Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Naby Keita is the only big name that is expected to miss the game through injury.
Liverpool man Keita has been ruled out of the final due to a thigh injury sustained during the semi-final second-leg against Barcelona.
Kane is the main man up top for Tottenham, but has been dealing with injuries all season long. He’s still managed to grab 23 goals in all competition’s this season, including five in the Champions League.
Van Dijk was recently named PFA Player of the Year, and will need to be on top form to prevent Kane firing Spurs to the trophy.
Salah has had another incredible season in a Red shirt. He’s scored 26 in all competitions, including four in the Champions League.
Mane has also been on top form this campaign. His stats are identical to those of Salah, with the Senegalese winger scoring 26 in all competitions including four in the Champions League.
Champions League final odds
Liverpool are the odds-on favourites to win the 2019 Champions League final with odds of 1/2 on them securing the trophy. They’re also 17/20 to win during the 90 minutes.
Tottenham are outsiders to pick up their first Champions League trophy at 6/4 to win by any method. They’re 16/5 to win in the 90 minutes.
Kane is favourite to break the deadlock for Spurs. He’s 9/2 for that, or you can get 7/4 on him anytime.
Salah and Mane are favourites to open the scoring for Liverpool at 4/1, and they’re both 6/4 to score anytime too.
View the latest Champions League final odds at Coral.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
