Real Madrid has had an extraordinary run to the Champions League final, and it may well be written in the stars that they could win this one too. The Los Blancos were outplayed for extended periods by PSG, Chelsea, and most recently, Manchester City, yet still managed to sail through in all three games. They’ll be underdogs in the final, and eliminating French giants would see them receive a backlash from the loyal Parisiens, with the finals set to be held in Paris. You may look at it in another way too. Karim Benzema is French, and the country could unite to cheer for their son. Liverpool’s journey Liverpool breezed through the group stages, winning all six games, but there have been some setbacks since then. The Reds were defeated by Inter Milan at home and only drew with Benfica at Anfield, but they had done enough in the away legs to advance. Jurgen Klopp’s team qualified for the final after a 2-0 win against Villarreal on Merseyside, but they had to withstand a rare scare in Spain. Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin drew the game level before halftime, but Liverpool responded with Fabinho, Luis Diaz, and Sadio Mane goals in the second half. Mohamed Salah has already stated his desire to avenge a 3-1 defeat in the 2018 Champions League final, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men will not take that lightly. Counter-attacks may expose them at the back, as that is an area the Spaniards seem to have perfected. Real Madrid’s journey Real have faced several challenges during their season, not least an early setback at the Bernabeu to Moldovan minnows Sheriff. They did, however, win five other group games, including two clean-sheet wins over Inter. The Whites lost 1-0 away to PSG in the round of 16 and fell on home soil until a Karim Benzema hat-trick turned things around. Benzema scored another treble in a 3-1 quarter-final victory over Chelsea, although the Blues had a 3-0 lead in Spain. On 80 minutes, Rodrygo leveled the aggregate score, and Benzema sealed the matter in extra time. Manchester City, who won 4-3 at Etihad Stadium and led 1-0 in the 90th minute in Madrid, added to the drama. Rodrygo’s remarkable double forced extra time, and who better than Benzema to score a penalty to finish off another spectacular comeback? Benzema already has 15 goals in the tournament, seven more than Salah of Liverpool, and the veteran striker is expected to score the game’s last goal at Stade de France. Vinicius Junior, whose speed would definitely bother Trent Alexander-Arnold, might potentially cause chaos, as he did when Real upset Liverpool 3-1 in the quarter-finals last season. Liverpool are hunting on all fronts, and you can read all Vwin’s predictions on the domestic cup final with Chelsea this coming weekend, and a tasking run-in as they chase Manchester City for the Premier League title to the wire. On the other hand, Madrid are focusing all their energy on winning their 13th European title. They have already secured the La Liga title, and coach Ancelotti will have the luxury of resting key players in the remaining matches, a luxury his counterpart cannot enjoy at Liverpool. It remains a close call, and there is everything to play for in the finals. Liverpool are out to avenge the 2018 disappointment, but Real Madrid wear the European Royalty tag for a reason.

Villarreal may have reached the end of their impressive Champions League run after Liverpool beat them 2-0 in the first leg of this semi-final at Anfield. Unai Emery’s team have eliminated Juventus and Bayern Munich to reach this level and they know they have underacheived. True to Jurgen Klopp’s words, Liverpool did not underrate them in the first leg and that helped the Reds to make win 2-0. Like they say, this game is still finely balanced and it is just the first half that has been played. Villarreal know Liverpool would be a tough nut to crack and the Reds showed in that first leg that they will do all they can to win a match. Emery will be hard at work to ensure his team earn the win, but overturning a 2-0 deficit against a defence that has Virgil van Dijk, is almost wishful thinking. Liverpool has faced Villarreal three times before now and have won two, while losing one. That loss was at the home of the Yellow Submarines and they will be careful not to suffer another defeat in this game.

Villarreal will be aiming for an upsetting win when they face Juventus is this Champions League game. The Yellow Submarines won the Europa League last season and progress to this stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2009. Knowing they cannot fall back to the Europa League, they will want to make the most of this chance and Juve has been inconsistent. The Italians won their group and added Dusan Vlahovic to their squad in the last transfer window. However, they continue to struggle for consistency in this second half of the campaign and it could cost them a place in the next round of the Champions League. They have been eliminated from this stage by Lyon and FC Porto in the last two campaigns and Max Allegri will not want that trend to continue. However, he watched his team struggle and only picked up a draw against Torino at the weekend. That is not the best way to prepare for this game. Villarreal won their last competitive game 4-1 at Granada and will approach this match with a lot of confidence. This is the first competitive meeting between both clubs and it would be interesting to see who has the upper hand.

Chelsea will continue their bid to retain their Champions League crown by facing Lille in the Round of 16 of the competition. The French club is not on its best form in this campaign and they have been struggling domestically. In Jonathan David they have a solid striker, but Chelsea is still the favourites. The Blues started this season well domestically, but they have struggled to keep up with Manchester City and Liverpool in the league. They have reached the final of the Carabao Cup, but winning that competition would be very tough for them because they are facing Liverpool. The Blues have just won the Club World Cup and know they need to eliminate Lille to keep themselves in the UCL. Going out at this stage against the French club would embarrassing so they need a strong performance in this fixture. Thomas Tuchel’s men has won all their last five matches in all competitions, albeit some have stretched them beyond normal time. Lille has just two wins from their last five competitive fixture, but they won at Montpellier on their last away match.

Barcelona is on the brink of being sent to the Europa League as they visit Bayern Munich in this final Champions League group match of the season. The Catalans have had a poor start to this campaign and are still paying the price. They probably waited too late to replace Ronald Koeman. Xavi is now being tasked with helping the team become competitive again, but things aren’t getting easier for him. Bayern is one of the favourites to lift the trophy in this campaign, so the Germans will be a proper test to Barca and they can be rampant sometimes. Benfica hosts Dynamo Kyiv and a win for the Portuguese club means Barca also has to get all three points in Germany. It is almost an impossible task with Robert Lewandowski is a fine form at the Allianz Arena. The Pole has already scored 9 times in the competition this season and we can back him to earn some more strikes in this game.

Real Madrid and Inter Milan face each other in this crunch Champions League game with both clubs looking to top their group. The Spaniards have 12 points while the Italians have 10 points. Both clubs have already secured qualifications for the next round of the competition. Madrid is aiming to win it again with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, while Inter has already surpassed their performance in the competition in the last few seasons. Madrid would miss the goals of Karim Benzema who is out injured, but Vinicius Junior has been in fine form and he would be a handful for Inter Milan in this game. Both of these clubs are in solid form ahead of this fixture with five wins from their last five matches. Inter hasn’t conceded a goal in four straight matches, while Madrid has kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 matches. Their form means both of these clubs could restrict each other in the game, but it promises to be an interesting one.

Milan has been terrible in the Champions League this season, but they can still qualify for the next round of the competition. This is because only Liverpool has been in fine form in their group this season and it is all to play for in this last matchday of the group. FC Porto is currently 2nd in that group with 5 points, but Milan and Atletico Madrid both have 4 points each. A win for the Italians and a draw in the other group game would see the Rossoneri make the next round of the competition. This should serve as enough motivation for them to win this game. Although Liverpool has already qualified for the next round of the Champions League, the Reds will want to end the group stages by winning all their matches. They beat Milan 3-2 in the reverse fixture and would look to do the double over them with another win in this fixture. Liverpool has won their last three matches against Milan in all competitions.

Chelsea will look for vengeance when they face Juventus in the Champions League today. The Blues and the Italian giants will both qualify from this group, but this match gives the Blues a chance to compete for the top spot. The Old Ladies won the reverse of this fixture in a very one-sided game and that Chelsea had the most possession. Max Allegri’s men enters this match after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Rome and they know it would be another tough day for them. But the very pragmatic tactician would be prepared to avoid defeat to the European champions again in this game. Chelsea has also been in solid form in the league and have won every other Champions League game. This match would be a major test of their credentials and they need to send a message to their rivals that they are serious about retaining their crown. Romelu Lukaku is back from injury and could play a part in this game, but Juventus is likely to still rest Paulo Dybala who is touch-and-go in terms of his fitness level now.

Barcelona will look to start the Xavi Hernandez era in the Champions League with a win against Benfica in this game. The returning midfielder knows he has a lot of work on his hands, but he would be confident he can turn his former side into a leading Spanish club again. Benfica won the reverse of this fixture 3-0 in Portugal and that has set this one up nicely to be a game to look forward to. Barca is above the Portuguese side by just two points and win in this match will confirm their participation in the knockout stages of the competition. However, if they suffer yet another defeat, they would be out of the running and that is something Xavi would be working against in this match. Benfica comes into this match on the back of two fine wins, but Barcelona struggled to beat Espanyol 1-0 at the weekend. The Blaugranas would consider that some progress judging by where they are coming from, but their fans would want a more expansive win today.