Champions League Final Betting Odds, Analysis, Preview: Liverpool Team Profile, Projected Starting XI, Key Stats, More

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid Odds

Liverpool enters the Champions League final having almost pulled off a wild final day Premier League comeback. However, the Reds now look to cap off their season with what would be its third and best piece of hardware for the entire campaign.

Here is everything you need to know about England's representative in the biggest game of the European club season.

Liverpool Profile

How The Reds Got Here

If you could use one word to describe Liverpool's road to the Champions League final, "smooth" would be right up at the top of the list.

The Reds got through the group stage with six wins in as many games, with three of those victories coming by two goals or more. Liverpool was pushed by AC Milan in its first game before thrashing Porto in a 5-1 rout. Then, it defeated Atlético Madrid twice in succession and repeated its opening wins.

Once the knockout stage arrived, Liverpool put together an impressive 2-0 victory away at San Siro, but Inter Milan provided the EPL side with its only loss of the season at Anfield. Though Liverpool held a 1.5 expected-goals edge in the home fixture, a Lautaro Martinez golazo gave Inter the 1-0 win.

Liverpool proceeded to handle Benfica comfortably over two legs before its biggest challenge arrived in Villarreal. The Reds subdued the Yellow Submarine to the tune of a 2-0 home win, but it was a different story in Spain.

Villarreal acquired a quick 2-0 lead that lasted until halftime. It appeared Liverpool was in real danger, but in typical fashion, it turned on the jets and nabbed three second-half goals to earn the outright victory.

Biggest Result on Road to Final

It's hard to pick any fixture except for the Villarreal second leg. That was the only time when it truly felt like Liverpool was in danger in the competition, and Jürgen Klopp's men were able to prove to the footballing world once again they're the best of the best.

Not only did Liverpool earn a result that would allow them to progress to the final in Paris, but it truly suffocated Villarreal in the second half, amassing 1.55 xG, while conceding… 0.00 in the process. That is a special half of football.

Projected Starting XI

Lineup notes: Klopp is dealing with a host of injury concerns ahead of this tie. Fabinho is recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered against Aston Villa at the beginning of May, but he's expected to return ahead of the game.

Thiago limped off the pitch in Liverpool's final-day victory over Wolves, and he's a real question mark with an Achilles problem. Divock Origi has already been ruled out with a muscle injury.

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are both expected to be ready to go after dealing with respective injuries in recent weeks.

Three Key Statistics

1. 0.89 xGA/game — Liverpool's team backbone is its stellar defense, led by van Dijk and accompanied by Ibrahima Konate in the middle, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson on the outside.
2. 2.5 goals per game — The Reds have scored at a relentless pace all season, totalling 2.47 goals/EPL match and 2.5 goals/UCL game.
3. 1,702 — Total pressures in its opponents' attacking third, the most of any team in the Premier League by over 100. It's a reflection of the non-stop pressing that Liverpool does thanks to the approach instilled by Klopp.

Two Biggest Strengths

1. Liverpool's attacking three is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. It has featured Salah and Sadio Mane for years, but the additions of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota have given the Reds even more options.
2. Virgil van Dijk. Without the best center back in the world last year, Liverpool nearly missed out on this Champions League campaign altogether, but with the "Rolls Royce" center half, there is always an aura of composure amongst this team.

Two Areas of Concern

1. As noted earlier, there are some big injury questions, plus a combination of an absent Fabinho and Thiago would be a solid problem for the midfield.
2. There aren't many issues this team faces, but pressure might be one of them. It helps Liverpool already amassed the domestic double, but a loss here would leave the Reds without their two biggest goals on the season after being within reach of a record quadruple.

Biggest 'X Factor' on Pitch

In the latter stages of the season, it has been Luis Díaz who has provided the biggest spark for this team. When creativity and incisiveness are needed in the final third of the pitch, Diaz has been able to provide it in crucial moments.

Final Thoughts

This is a massive game for Liverpool on many levels. Beyond the obvious of this being a Champions League final, the Reds have a shot at revenge after falling to Madrid in the same stage of this competition four years ago.

Then, Liverpool was just turning into a dominant machine, but now it's the favorite here and arguably the best team in the world.

A win here would affirm the Jürgen Klopp era at Liverpool as one of the most dominant in world football over recent years, but a loss would be a bit devastating for this squad.

Let's see what happens.