The Champions League Final is the peak of European club football and we are down to the final two teams - Real Madrid vs Liverpool. The final match takes place live from NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine on May 26th, 2018.
Let's take a closer look at both team along with our Top Five UEFA Champions League bets.
Real Madrid - Road To The Final
2017 - 18 Match Results
Group H: 2nd place to qualify for knockout stage
Round of 16: Beat PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) 5-2 over two legs
Quarter-Finals: Beat Juventus 4-3 over two legs
Semi-Finals: Beat Bayern Munich 4-3 over two legs
Top Goal Scorer - Cristiano Ronaldo (15 Goals)
Total UEFA League Championship Titles - 12 (Have Won Back to Back)
Liverpool - Road To The Final
2017 - 18 Match Results
Group E: 1st place to qualify for knockout stage
Round of 16: Beat Porto 5-0 over two legs
Quarter-Finals: Beat Manchester City 5-1 over two legs
Semi-Finals: Beat Roma 7-6 over two legs
Top Goal Scorer - Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino (10 Goals)
Total UEFA League Championship Titles - 5 (Last one in 2005)
Top 5 UEFA Champions League Bets
1) Outright Winner - Liverpool
This game will be a great one for football fans of both teams and neutrals everywhere including those wanting to make a big bet on the winning team. Team fans will be on a knife’s edge the entire game as it should be close. Both Real Madrid and Liverpool have a poor defence and score plenty of goals. Real Madrid are the favourites as they are back to back champions and their record shows that they play well in Champions League football. The Bovada Sportsbook has Real Madrid as the slight favourites at -140. However, if you are looking for a better return on your Champions League Finals game bet, Liverpool are playing very well and don’t seem afraid of any other team. Liverpool go into this game with nothing to lose, as they were not expected to be in the final or even close to the finals. Real Madrid needs to defend this title to make up for their poor form in La Liga this season.
Bovada has Liverpool at +115 to lift the trophy.
2) Over / Under Goals in Match
If all the previous Champions League rounds and the regular season says anything about these two teams, it’s that they score lots of goals. If you combine this skill with their shaky defence it will equal many more in this game. In the semi-finals alone, these two teams scored 11 goals (7 by Liverpool and 4 by Real Madrid) against two strong defensive teams. Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale spearhead Real Madrid’s offence, while Liverpool’s scoring will also be lead by their front three attackers in Mane, Firmino and Salah. Both these threesomes were amongst the best in Europe during 2017-2018. This scoring in this game should continue to follow these teams’ patterns.
A good bet on the UCL Finals is OVER 4 goals at odds of +204 at Bovada.
3) 1st Half Specials Betting
There are several game specials to choose from on the Bovada sports betting website, but one that caught my eye for this match is Liverpool scoring two goals in the first half at +500. This season, Liverpool is known for their fast starts in Champions League and domestic football. Previous games, in earlier rounds, in the Champions League have proven this as being a good bet. In the quarter-finals, Liverpool scored three first half goals versus Manchester City and in the semi-finals versus Roma, Liverpool scored two goals in the first half of both games. If this pattern continues, this will be a great specials bet.
4) UCL Finals Prop Betting
To continue the goal scoring frenzy theme for this game, Bovada has odds at +800 for both teams to each score in both halves. This may seem like more of a longshot bet than the others, but with these two teams involved in the game, I really don’t think it is that far fetched. Focusing on knock out stage games of the Champions League, Real Madrid have scored in both halves in four of their six games (67% rate). Liverpool is a team that scores more in bunches, and only managed to score in both halves in two of the six games played (34% rate). The very shaky and weak defence of both these teams allowed some soft goals all year. With these frail defences facing these fast-paced offensive minded teams, there will be goals on display for both.
Both Teams Score in Both Halves +800 at Bovada
5) Betting the Goalscorers
There are many players on both sides that can put the ball in the goal and in this game there should be a few that will do so. If you are looking for a likely bet with short odds in the goal scorers department, Bovada has Ronaldo to score at -140 and Salah to score at -130. The main supporting cast on both teams also have fair odds to score and are all a good chance to do so in this game. So, if you are a punter looking at some longshot game props for the Champions League Finals, you might want to take advantage of betting on Ramos to score any time at +750 at Bovada. This seems like great value for a centre back known more for his big goals than his defence.
Good luck with all the bets you make on the UCL Finals – it should be a great game with lots of goals and lots of opportunities to make money wagering.
