This year’s Champions League final is something to look forward to. Both of these teams should be able to put on a great show and give us an exciting finale. Liverpool and Real Madrid are experts on the counterattack and have incredible technical ability. What should also add to the intrigue is that both squads are susceptible to defensive lapses.

However, I do not find myself staring at any of the game lines, as I think the odds are quite in line with where they should be. Instead, my attention has been drawn to a big discrepancy in corner kick props between the two teams.

In La Liga, Real Madrid has attempted 279 corner kicks, which comes out to ~7.3 corners per game. Liverpool on the other hand, have taken 230 corners overall, which plays out to ~6 corners per game. On the surface, this may not look like a massive discrepancy — and you’d be right — but if you dig more deeply, you see Liverpool has had trouble generating corner kicks in the knockout stages of this competition. Why? Simply put, they have faced much tougher teams than they do in the Premier League.

In the knockout stages of the Champions League, Liverpool has faced Porto, Manchester City and Roma. Real Madrid, on the other hand, has had a tougher path, having to play Paris-St. Germain, Juventus and Bayern Munich.

In their six knockout-stage matches, Liverpool have managed to win just 11 corners. That translates to fewer than two per game. Real Madrid have won 41 corners in their six knockout-stage games, which puts them right around their average.

Public bettors have been all over Real Madrid since yesterday. Now getting nearly 60% of bets and the line's down to +115.

Line has crept back up to +125/+130 on Real Madrid.

Liverpool currently +207 and the draw is at +287.

I played O3, 3.5 for some action.

The European soccer season concludes in Kyiv when Real Madrid take on Liverpool in the Champions League final. Reigning champions Real possess quite the European pedigree. They will attempt to win their third consecutive European title with a victory at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

The Spaniards can field an unchanged side from last season’s victory over Juventus and certainly edge Liverpool out when it comes to experience on the big stage. No player in Liverpool’s squad has experienced a Champions League final and this is the club’s first campaign in Europe’s elite competition since the 2014/15 season.

Promisingly for neutrals neither side has reached this final on the basis of their defensive strength. Liverpool have already scored more goals in a single Champions League campaign than any other side. Their semi-final tie against Roma featured 13 goals over the two legs. Real Madrid have also been productive in attack with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 15 goals on the way to the final.

Both teams conceded more goals in the knockout stages than Champions League finalists would usually be expected to and they are unlikely to play more conservatively in the final.

Despite holding a first-leg lead over Bayern in the semifinal, Zinedine Zidane opted to drop the squad’s only dedicated defensive midfield player, Casemiro. When many managers would have been satisfied with holding their lead the French coach set his team up to outscore their opponents. He is unlikely to deploy more defensive tactics in this match.

Like Bayern, Liverpool present a different proposition to that offered by Juventus in last season’s final. The reds are unlikely to rely on their defence to keep Madrid out and will instead attack a Real backline that has looked fragile at times in this competition. Salah, Mane and Firmino have combined for more goals than any other attacking trio in Europe and it is likely Liverpool will get on the scoresheet in Kyiv.

The opening exchanges in the match could prove to be pivotal. Liverpool have scored an early goal in the first leg of every knockout round so far.

Key battle: Can Liverpool contain Real Madrid’s left-side?
Real Madrid could lineup in either a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation but both systems lack a true left-winger. Cristiano Ronaldo drifts into a centre-forward position even when nominally stationed on the wing whilst the both Isco and Asensio are tasked with creating overloads in central positions rather than stretching the play.

Liverpool’s young right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has a World Cup with England to look forward to after this final but he will have a difficult task to negotiate in Kyiv first. The 19-year-old will need to be alert to help deal with the threat of all-time Champions League top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Regardless of his position on the team sheet, the Portuguese forward will drift into the channel between Alexander-Arnold and Dejan Lovren. The youngster will need to be aware of the attacker’s position, especially given the Croatian is prone to the occasional costly error.

Ronaldo is superb at finding shooting opportunities in high-value locations. He has taken an impressive 4.7 shots from inside the penalty area per game in the Champions League this season so he will need to be closely marked, and preferably double-marked, at all times.

Adding to the task facing Alexander-Arnold is the threat provided by the overlapping Marcelo. The left-back is a key component in Real’s buildup play and will not hesitate to exploit any open space on the wing.

Key to the matchup in this vital area of the pitch is Liverpool’s PFA Player of the Year Mohamed Salah. Salah is a huge threat in attack but is not as strong defensively. The Egyptian forward failed to register a tackle or interception over the two legs against Roma with Alexander-Arnold often left outnumbered.

This battle demonstrates why the game is likely to be so open. Instead of defending Marcelo, Salah may instead attempt to exploit the space left behind when the Brazilian pushes forward. If Salah is particularly threatening then Marcelo will need to decide whether to risk leaving the dangerous attacker with the opportunity to take the game away from Real or curb his own attacking instincts.

AS Roma’s Aleksandar Kolarov chose the former with some success in the semi-final second-leg but that is a dangerous choice against a player with the quality of Salah. If Alexander-Arnold can stand up to the challenge posed by the left-side of Real then Salah will be free to torment the Real defence as he did in the first-leg victory over the Italians.

Both teams are likely to be threatening down this side of the pitch and the battle between Salah and Marcelo demonstrates why this game is likely to feature goals.

With the attacking talent available to both managers this is likely to be a high-scoring final. Over 3.5 goals to be scored in the game is available at 2.250* which could provide value considering the tactics favoured by both teams.

Liverpool’s success in this competition has been fueled by early goals. They will be looking for a fast start in the final but could also leave themselves open in the process. Over 1.25 goals to be scored in the first half can be backed at 1.943* and would have been a winner in four of Liverpool’s six Champions League knockout matches.

waited till this one crept down

SOC [224201] TOTAL o3-116 (LIVERPOOL vrs REAL MADRID)

YTD
53-38-6 +40.65

msu, when i saw you post a Network play on it i added it

Closing odds for the Champions League Final:

Real Madrid +135
Liverpool +207
Draw +271

Uruguay have already moved from -142 to -162 at Pinnacle within minutes of Salah coming off in the Champions League final.

Real now a -185 favorite to lift the trophy with Salah out for the match.

WOW

what a goal !!!!!!!!!!!!

no worse than a push
GL

that's SC TOP 10 if not #1

SOC [224201] TOTAL o3-116 (LIVERPOOL vrs REAL MADRID)...........W

YTD
54-38-6 +41.65

Bale with 2 sick goals for the WINNER

you have to think the guy coming on the field after Ronaldo had him +185 to NOT score

With Liverpool and Real Madrid taking the pitch in Kiev, vying for the European Cup, the idea of goals — or many goals — being scored shouldn’t have shocked many soccer fans.

After all, the match would feature all four of the top goal-scorers from the 2018 UCL season (Ronaldo, Mané, Firmino, and Salah) and the total ended up falling anywhere between 3 and 3.5 goals in most books (which, to me, seemed low).

That being said, the manner in which goals would be scored in this year’s UCL Final … could only be described as “shocking.” Yes, it took a comedy of errors — an almost Schumannian symphony of errors — for this match to go “over” the total.

After a 0-0 first half, under bettors had to have been feeling good. Especially after Mo Salah, who’s been scoring at a breakneck pace of late, left the pitch in the 31′ with injury. Sure, the idea of four goals being slotted in a half wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility, but it would likely require a really colossal effort from both sides. Or some really colossal mistakes.

Unfortunately for under bettors, it would turn out to be the latter.

Benzema (and I say that lightly) opened up scoring in the 51′ minute on the type of thing you (usually) only see in FIFA (yes, the video game). Liverpool keeper Loris Karius tried clearing the ball by rolling it out wide … oblivious to the fact that Benzema was, indeed, right in front of him. As you can probably visualize, this will probably go down as the easiest goal ever scored in a Champions League Final.

Without the two Karius blunders, this match probably stays under. But, today, it looked like Karius carried little more than the weight of over bettors (and Madrid moneyline bettors). Shake it off. Or temporarily imagine how Loris, himself, feels.

More success for MLS road teams on Saturday. Results:

RSL +559 at Seattle
Chicago +250 at Orlando
Portland +170 at Colorado
LA FC/DC Draw +413
NYRB/Philly Draw +360
Vancouver/NE Draw +280
Minnesota +120 v Montreal

the bicycle kick goal is everywhere, including #1