Fly that Union Jack high! It’s been a banner year in English soccer. After a trip to the World Cup Semifinals, England’s club teams have built on the country’s international success.
- Date & Time
- June 1st, 2019 3:00pm
- Location
- Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
- Media Coverage
- TNT, Univision Deportes
- Teams
Fly that Union Jack high! It's been a banner year in English soccer. After a trip to the World Cup Semifinals, England's club teams have built on the country's international success. For the first time ever, both the Europa League Final and the Champions League Final will be fully English affairs. Liverpool FC are looking to win their sixth Champions League all-time, while Tottenham Hotspur are making their first-ever appearance in the Champions League Final.
Liverpool FC vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Champions League Odds
Spurs and Liverpool both have to believe they are teams of fate. Both teams were heavy underdogs coming into the second leg of the Champions League final, yet both overcame the long odds to make it to Madrid.
This is something that Tottenham have been doing all throughout the Champions League. Spurs had just one point through the first round robin of their Group Stage, and most observers counted them out. However, they were able to rally and got a little help at the end to advance over Inter Milan. In the Round of 16, Spurs comfortably advanced past Borussia Dortmund, and then they stunned everyone by managing to beat Manchester City on away goals thanks to an inspired performance from Son Heung-min. Things looked even more dire after Tottenham trailed Ajax 3-0 on aggregate at halftime of the second leg, but Lucas Moura bagged a hat trick to send Spurs through.
Liverpool are back in the Champions League Final for the second straight year. It wasn't easy getting back here though. The Reds were drawn into the Group of Death and just barely survived ahead of Napoli. They were drawn against German giants Bayern Munich in the Round of 16, and they needed to win in the German capital in the second leg to advance. Liverpool got a breather against Porto, but it looked like they had met their match when they were drawn against Barcelona. That wasn't the case though as the Reds overcame a 3-0 deficit without Mo Salah or Roberto Firmino to win 4-0 in Anfield and advance.
Champions League History
These two teams have vastly different European backgrounds. Spurs are relative minnows on the international stage. They have won Europa League two times and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup once, but they have never advanced past the final in either the Champions League or its predecessor, the European Cup. It's been 35 years since Tottenham last played for a European trophy.
The most decorated international team in England is Liverpool. The Reds have won the Champions League five times, with four of those victories coming during the club's high water mark in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They finished runner-up in 1985 too, but they disappeared from the international scene after the Heysel disaster. We have seen a Liverpool resurgence over the past dozen or so years, and the Reds won the 2005 Champions League in thrilling fashion and finished runner-up in 2007 and 2018.
Injury Report
Mo Salah is expected to be healthy for this match. Salah sustained a concussion last week, and he had to sit out the second leg against the Barcelona as a result. All this time off should give him the opportunity to return to the pitch for the final. Liverpool won't have Naby Keita available for this match due to injury, and Roberto Firmino may not be healthy enough to play.
The race is on for Harry Kane. Kane is aiming to return from an ankle injury in order to play in this match. He is probably somewhere between questionable and probable to play in Madrid, and that will give Spurs a boost. Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier, and Harry Winks are injury doubts.
