12 Jun 2019
It is one of the most unlikely European Cup finals in living memory, not least since it is a combined 86 years since either Tottenham or Liverpool won the English top flight league. Both had to come from three goals down in their respective semi-finals to reach the 2019 Champions League final.
Here, Genting Casino offers a comprehensive guide to the final, complete with all the odds you need.
WHEN IS THE 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
The 2019 UEFA Champions League will be played on Saturday, June 1. In an all-English final, the match sees five-time European Cup winners Liverpool taking on Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool last won England’s top-flight league in 1991 while Tottenham Hotspur, who are playing in their first Champions League final, have not been crowned English champions since 1961. The match kicks off at 8pm BST.
WHERE DOES THE 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TAKE PLACE?
The Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, home of Atletico Madrid, in Spain.
THE ROAD TO THE 2019 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Liverpool have been defeated in their last three European finals, but the Genting Casino Champions League football odds have Jurgen Klopp’s side as 19/20 favourites to beat Tottenham Hotspur in normal time.
Both staged remarkable comebacks in their respective semi-finals, Liverpool coming from 3-0 down from the first leg in Barcelona, to win 4-0 at Anfield in the return six days later.
Tottenham’s comeback was even more unfathomable. Having lost the semi-final first-leg 1-0 at home to Ajax, they found themselves 2-0 down and 3-0 down on aggregate after 35 minutes in the second leg in Amsterdam. But Lucas Moura’s second-half hat-trick, with the last goal coming in the sixth minute of stoppage time, gave Spurs the victory on away goals.
The Genting Casino football odds for Tottenham to beat Liverpool in normal time are 14/5.
Liverpool have lost just one of the teams’ last 14 meetings dating back to the start of 2013, winning nine. The Reds prevailed 2-1 in both this season’s encounters, most recently at Anfield on March 31, when Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld put through his own net in the last minute.
The last time they met in a final was in 1982 when Liverpool beat Tottenham 3-1 after extra time in the League Cup. Spurs led for 76 minutes at Wembley, but Ronnie Whelan’s late strike, cancelling out Steve Archibald’s 11th-minute strike, turned the tide. They went on to win with goals from Whelan and Ian Rush.
They have met once in European competition, with Liverpool winning a two-leg UEFA Cup semi-final on away goals in 1973. The Reds went on to win the trophy – their first in Europe – after a two-leg final with Borussia Monchengladbach (3-2 on aggregate).
This will be Spurs’ first European final since winning the UEFA Cup in 1984. They have won three of their four European finals and were the first British club to win a major European competition, lifting the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963.
Tottenham seek to become the sixth club – after Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United – to win all three major UEFA club trophies, and this will be the first fully English showpiece in the competition since Manchester United’s penalty shootout victory against Chelsea in 2008.
Liverpool have won 82 of the 172 meetings since 1909, with Tottenham winning 48. No less than 42 of those meetings have been ended in a stalemate and it is 13/5 that the final will end in a draw.
TOP TRENDS FOR THE 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Spurs have won just four league games on Liverpool’s home ground in the last 34 years. The last of those came eight years ago, an end-of-season affair which they won 2-0. The odds for Spurs to win or draw the final are 4/5 on the Double Chance market.
Liverpool lost just one of the last 14 meetings with Spurs and the Reds are consequently priced at 2/5 to win (draw no bet).
Seven of the last eight meetings in all competitions have seen each side score at least once and it is 3/4 that both sides find the net in 90 minutes.
Five of the last six meetings yielded three goals or more and the odds for over 2.5 goals to be scored in normal time are 17/20.
Tottenham have conceded at least once in seven of their last eight games in all competitions and they are as big as 3/1 to keep a clean sheet.
Liverpool registered the third highest points total in Premier League history (97), but still missed out on their first title in 29 years, despite scoring 26 goals more than third-placed Chelsea and averaging 2.34 goals per game. The Genting Casino Champions League soccer odds for Liverpool to score first are 4/6.
The Merseyside club won their last nine Premier League games and lost just once in their entire Premier League campaign – a 2-1 defeat by champions Manchester City in January. It is 11/4 for Liverpool to win but concede in 90 minutes and 15/2 for the Reds to win 2-1 on the Correct Score market.
Having lost the 2018 final 3-1 to Real Madrid at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Liverpool will bid to avoid becoming only the third club to lose back-to-back Champions League finals after Juventus (1997, 1998) and Valencia (2000, 2001), and are 8/15 to lift the trophy.
Spurs come into this final in modest form, having won just three of their last 12 Premier League games, losing seven (D2). It is 6/1 that they win the trophy in 90 minutes, but concede at least once.
However, they still finished fourth in the Premier League, securing Champions League football next season by a point from Arsenal, despite not playing well.
This is a remarkable season for Spurs. They have rarely hit the heights of last season, but have somehow managed to reach the final, even after losing their first two Group games to Inter Milan and Barcelona, and drawing the next with PSV Eindhoven.
There has been a three-week break since the end of the Premier League season however, and that could work in Tottenham’s favour as Liverpool’s momentum may have been halted. Spurs are therefore priced at 6/4 to lift the trophy.
TEAM NEWS – KLOPP’S MIDFIELD DILEMMA
Klopp has very little to worry about. With 20 days’ rest from the last Premier League game to the final and with his squad all unscathed from behind-closed-doors 3-0 friendly win over Benfica B in Marbella on Saturday, he has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are the likely full-backs, with Joel Matip’s end-of-season form means he is almost certain to partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool’s defence.
Roberto Firmino’s return from injury means he will partner Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane up front. While Firmino adds potency to the attack, Egyptian Salah is the big dangerman. He has scored 26 goals for Liverpool in all competitions this season, four of which have come in Europe – and after his final against Real Madrid was cut short through injury, he will be keen to shine in Europe’s biggest club competition. The odds for Salah to score at any stage are 11/8 and it is 13/2 that he scores two or more.
Mane, who scored 22 Premier League goals and four in the Champions League this season, is also priced at 11/8 to score at any time and 13/2 to score two or more. Like Salah, Mane is 4/1 to score the first goal.
Perhaps the biggest headache for Klopp is who to play in midfield. Liverpool, who finished 26 points clear of Tottenham in the Premier League, have rotated a group of five players – Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner and Naby Keita – throughout the campaign, and it seems likely that Keita will be on the bench, as he has not played since the defeat in Barcelona.
Is Fabinho’s influence too valuable to the side to leave him out? He will be up against a similarly combative Spurs midfield and it seems the Brazilian will play.
Wijnaldum is a brilliant player one day, the next he can be anonymous. His tactical intelligence means he is vital to Klopp’s plans, so the final place comes down to Milner or Henderson, with the latter seemingly set to get the nod.
It may not be the most dynamic midfield, but it is the most balanced and they probably can’t rely on Milner’s 33-year-old legs for 90 minutes against a high-octane Spurs midfield.
TEAM NEWS – TIME ON TOTTENHM’S SIDE
Mauricio Pochettino must be delighted that the 20-day gap between the end of the season and the final, as it has given star striker Harry Kane to inch closer to fitness.
He picked up an ankle ligament injury in the first leg of the quarter-finals against Manchester City, a tie Spurs won on the away goals rule, and he has not been seen on the pitch since running on to celebrate Spurs’ win over Ajax in the semis.
There must be some apprehension in starting Kane, especially with Son Heung-Min, Moura and Dele Alli in form and rested. It is questionable whether the England striker would have the stamina to last a full 90 minutes after being out of action for so long.
Kane is 17/10 to score at any time, but Son’s pace means he is a viable alternative to grab a goal at any time and odds of 5/2 might seem generous to some.
With Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez also returning to full training following injuries, and academy graduate Harry Winks also progressing, Pochettino will be able to field something close to the strongest possible XI.
To see all the odds on this clash, click here.
HOW TO WATCH THE 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL LIVE
BT Sport will show full coverage, while subscribers will be able to live stream the game via the BT Sport app. BBC Radio 5Live will have full commentary from Madrid.
