Champions League

LIVERPOOL take on the mighty Real Madrid on Saturday in what promises to be a mouthwatering Champions League final.Los Blancos fought back in stunning fashion to beat Man City and advance to Paris after overcoming Chelsea in the quarters.
Jurgen Klopp has a number of injury worries ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League finalCredit: Getty
The Reds face LaLiga winners Real Madrid and their star-studded squad in ParisCredit: Reuters
Liverpool have had somewhat of an easier run to the final, beating Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal en route to the showpiece in France.
The Reds will be seeking revenge when they take on a Real side who beat them 3-1 in the 2018 final thanks to Gareth Bale’s spectacular brace.
But Jurgen Klopp has a number of injury worries leading into the clash – especially with midfield duo Thiago and Fabinho.
Spaniard Thiago limped off in the 3-1 win over Wolves on Sunday with an Achilles problem and will undergo scans this week to see if he can make it.
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Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-i1acvs:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}LIVERPOOL VS REAL .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}All the crucial info you need for MASSIVE Champions League final in Paris
And Brazilian Fabinho has missed their last three matches with a hamstring injury but hopes to recover in time for Real.
Meanwhile, star duo Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, who did come on to score, were only deemed fit enough for the bench against Wolves.
Neither are believed to be 100 per cent fit, but Klopp and the Kop faithful will be praying both are back in top condition for this weekend.
If all of their top guns are available, Liverpool know that they are a match for anybody in the world.
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However, Madrid’s LaLiga-winning squad contains plenty of star power itself – and ahead of the game we try to go through both to pick our best combined starting XI:
GK: ALISSON (LIVERPOOL)
Madrid No1 Thibaut Courtois has recovered from a sticky start following his arrival at the Bernabeu from Chelsea in 2018 to regain his best form.
But unfortunately for him he misses out to Liverpool’s brilliant Brazilian stopper Alisson – who is arguably the best keeper in the Premier League.
RB: TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD (LIVERPOOL)
Has just enjoyed another incredible campaign and just missed out to teammate Mo Salah in the Playmaker of the Season award. 
Impossible to leave out.
CB: IBRAHIMA KONATE (LIVERPOOL)
Madrid’s backline simply does not compare to Liverpool’s.
And the Frenchman has been in stunning form since cementing his place in Klopp’s first-team over recent months.
CB: VIRGIL VAN DIJK (LIVERPOOL)
If fit, the Dutchman is another that is impossible to leave out.
Despite his injury problems, he remains one of the finest centre-halves on the planet.
LB: ANDY ROBERTSON (LIVERPOOL)
Just like Alexander-Arnold, he offers so much to Liverpool’s attack and pips Ferland Mendy into our team. 
CM: LUKA MODRIC (REAL MADRID)
Despite now being 36, the Croatian continues to age like a fine wine.
The Madrid magician is a game-changer and could have a big impact on Saturday.
The best of the bunch from the Champions League final squadsCredit: The Sun

CM: THIAGO ALCANTARA (LIVERPOOL)
Klopp will be desperate for the ace to recover in time for Paris.
Pulls the strings in the Liverpool midfield and provides plenty of ammunition for the forwards.
CM: TONI KROOS (REAL MADRID)
It was a tough choice between Reds skipper Jordan Henderson for his non-stop work-rate or the German.
But the guile of Kroos just edges it for this starting XI.
CF: MO SALAH (LIVERPOOL)
Even if only half-fit, you can bet your bottom dollar that Klopp will risk it and start the Egyptian.
The Premier League Golden Boot winner is desperate for revenge against Madrid.
CF: KARIM BENZEMA (REAL MADRID)
Must be the leading candidate for the Ballon d’Or and has almost single-handedly dragged Madrid through to the final.
He has 44 goals already this term and will be Real’s biggest danger in Paris.
CF: SADIO MANE (LIVERPOOL)
Was a tough choice between the Senegal ace or Madrid’s Brazilian star Vinicius.
But Mane, who has found the net 23 times this season, gets the nod due to his goal output. More

THE duel between Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the most enticing features of Saturday’s Champions League final.Two magnificently talented players are vitally important to the attacking play of their teams. If one of them is neutralised – or if one of them is given too much freedom – it could decide the outcome of the match.
Liverpool will look to Trent Alexander-Arnold to inspire them to Champions League gloryCredit: PA
Real Madrid’s talisman Vinicius Jr poses the Reds a threatCredit: Rex
In last year’s meeting in the quarter final, there was no doubt about who came out on top. Vinicius scared the life out of the Liverpool defence, scoring twice in the Bernabeu as Real won the first leg 3-1.
It is possible that Jurgen Klopp’s men over-compensated in the return leg back at Anfield, making so sure of defensive cover that they could not attack with the intensity needed to turn things round, and the game ended goalless.
That match in Madrid last April was a big moment for Vinicius. It was conclusive proof that Real had not gone mad three years earlier when they paid over £40million for a sixteen year old who had not made his professional debut.
Some thought that the club were still furious at having missed out on Neymar, and were paying well over the odds as a result.
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Real were certainly taking a gamble. Football is full of wonderkids who never came near to meeting the expectations that were cruelly heaped upon them.
The first hints that this would be money well spent came while Vinicius was still with Flamengo in Brazil – Real had to wait until he was 18 to take him across the Atlantic.
One night in 2018 in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League, he came off the bench away to Emelec of Ecuador and turned likely defeat into a win.
The home fans were not angry with him. They had that rare sense of having been in the presence of something special, and queued up to have their photo taken with him at the final whistle.
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It is a feeling that – just maybe – Liverpool fans will remember from last year. But come the final whistle in Paris this Saturday they will not want to look for consolation in defeat.
They will hope to look back at a convincing performance in which Alexander-Arnold has made more of an impact on the game than Vinicius Junior.
How, then, will Klopp play it? It hardly seems worthwhile to ask his right back to be cautious.
Alexander-Arnold attacks much better than he defends. Why ask him to sacrifice what he does best in order to do more in his weakest area?
HOW TO TAME VINICIUS?
Liverpool will need to have more defensive cover down that flank – and it is probably worth recalling that they had a second string pair of centre backs in the Bernabeu last year.
They also need to close down Vinicius Junior’s supply line. In that 3-1 win, it was Tony Kroos who used his superb range of passing to put that Brazilian past Liverpool’s defence.
The Reds will have to press much better than they did that night – and they cannot lose concentration for a second.
In this year’s campaign Real have kept showing that they do not have to be the better side over the full course of the game to come out on top.
They can win by taking advantage of mini phases, passages of play where they grab the momentum and run with it as fast as Vinicius can carry them.
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Will he tire himself out tracking Alexander-Arnold back down the flank? Or can he use his seventh gear to get round the back of the Liverpool defence?
It is shaping up to be a battle of worthy adversaries.
Vinicius Jr terrorised Liverpool’s defence in a 3-1 win last seasonCredit: EPA More