*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
The big one is almost here. Liverpool fell just short in the Premier League, with Manchester City winning their fourth title in five years, but Jurgen Klopp’s men still have the chance to win a treble.
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Champions League final: Liverpool v Real Madrid
Saturday, May 28: 8pm
BT Sport 1 & BT Sport YouTube (FREE)
The Reds have already secured the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup – and now they have their sights set on another Champions League triumph. All they have to do is get past La Liga champions Real Madrid, who knocked out City and Chelsea in the competition this season.
The big games call for the big names, so we’ve rounded up our leading football traders Emmet O’Keeffe, Jason Murphy Niall Connolly and Rob Jones to crunch the numbers and deliver the ultimate Bet Builder for the showdown in Paris.
*A Bet Builder with these four bets pays at approximately 112/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Sadio Mane to Score Anytime
Emmet O’Keeffe
Mane has been in excellent goalscoring form since being moved to a central striker role with Luiz Diaz now operating on the left hand side of Liverpool’s first-choice attack.
Since arriving back from a victorious African Nations Cup campaign with Senegal, Mane has a superb record of 14 goals in his last 20 starts in all competitions. In that same time period, Mo Salah has only scored six with Mane taking over the mantle as Liverpool’s primary goalscoring threat in the second half of the season.
In a match where they should dominate territorially, Mane can expose a competent but far from world class Real Madrid centre-back pairing of Nacho and Eder Milltao and punters should get a couple of chances for this to click.
Daniel Carvajal To Be Shown A Card
Jason Murphy
My gut feeling is that Liverpool’s squad and strength on the bench means that if they haven’t got the match won by half-time, they surely will in the second. Carlo Ancelotti’s options off the bench are not as strong as Jurgen Klopp’s and that is why Real Madrid have used less subs in the knockout stages.
Klopp’s ability to freshen things up with quality is the main reason ‘Liverpool to win the second half’ is worth considering in your Bet Builders. However, my main selection is ‘Dani Carvajal Shown a Card’. When looking at this market, player match-ups are really important to consider.
It is very likely Carvajal will be matched up against Luis Diaz. If that was not enough to worry him, he will also have to deal with Andy Robertson tearing down the left wing outside.
Carvajal is an excellent footballer, and is brilliant going forward. But due to injuries he’s lost a bit of pace, therefore, for him to be shown a card on what will be a difficult night’s work trying to contain Diaz, while keeping also keeping an eye on Robertson, is a fairly strong Bet Builder leg selection.
Thiago Anytime Assist
Niall Connolly
Klopp has indicated Thiago should be fit enough to start the Champions League final. This is a major boost to Liverpool as his late season form has given their midfield a new spark in terms of creativity, which they previously may have lacked.
Thiago has assisted two goals in his last three starts and has registered assists against Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City in the latter half of this season. When facing top opposition (and Arsenal!), Liverpool have been forced to shift from their usual strategy of trapping the opposition and overloading the flank with the likes of Salah, Mane, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
This may require them to look towards their midfield for some creativity where the ex-Barcelona man is their go-to playmaker.
Ibrahima Konate to Have 1 or More Shots
Rob Jones
Both Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip have strong claims to partner Virgil van Dijk on Saturday night and for the purposes of our Bet Builder, I’m keen to back whichever one Jurgen Klopp picks in his starting XI to register 1 or More Shots.
Liverpool hold several records during this Champion’s League campaign: most goals from set pieces (8), most headed shots (35), most headed goals (6). Konate has featured heavily in the knockout stages, registering two goals & averaging one shot per 90 minutes.
If Matip starts, he also poses a significant set-piece threat. He averaged 1.1 shots per 90 minutes over the course of the domestic season and led the way with 30 headed shots, more than anyone else in the Premier League.
With much of the opposition attention on Virgil van Dijk, I fancy one of his bigger priced partners to get at least one chance at goal this weekend. Konate has been given the nod for most of the Champions League run so far and that could continue here. If Klopp is worried about that mistake against Wolves last time out though, he could opt for the experience of Matip.
Just stick in whoever gets the nod from Jurgen.
Champions League final betting tips:
Sadio Mane to Score Anytime
Daniel Carvajal To Be Shown A Card
Thiago Anytime Assist
Ibrahima Konate to Have 1 or More Shots
*A Bet Builder with these four bets pays at approximately 112/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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