Champions League Finals: Predictions & Match Preview

Football fans worldwide will be thrilled today as the UEFA Champions League final will be played between two favourites in the competition and current champions in their domestic leagues Lyon and Bayern.

Champions League Final

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker, Michael Owen, has predicted that Bayern Munich will win this year’s Champions League.

The Bundesliga champions face Paris Saint-Germain in the final on Sunday. To qualify for this stage, Bayern thrashed Barcelona 8-2 before seeing off Lyon 3-0. PSG secured a 2-1 win over Atalanta and then crushed RB Leipzig 3-0 in the semi-final.

Both teams are looking to complete a Treble this season, having won two domestic cups each, but Owen feels it is the Germans that will achieve it.

“A great team normally beats great individuals. With that in mind, it’s Bayern Munich for me in The @ChampionsLeague Final tonight,” Owen tweeted.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea left-back, Ashley Cole, has said Paris Saint-Germain’s front three of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria, will be too hot for Bayern Munich to handle in the Champions League final.

Cole, who won the Champions League with the Blues in 2012, told the Dream Screen that PSG’s rapid attackers will see the Ligue 1 champions come out tops.

“The danger is behind and Neymar, Mbappe and Di Maria – I wouldn’t want to play against them, to be honest.

“But I don’t know how interchangeable Bayern’s formation or personnel are. Will they change the formation or the way they play, the style they play?

“They have to because they are coming up against a very good PSG side and a good front three with Di Maria, Mbappe and Neymar coming in between the lines,” Cole said.

PSG thrashed RB Leipzig 3-0 in their semi-final clash, while Bayern also beat Lyon 3-0.

Read Also: Five Things Learnt From PSG Win Over Leipzig

A former England and Manchester United captain, Wayne Rooney, has backed Paris Saint-Germain to beat Bayern Munich in tonight’s Champions League final fixture at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

Rooney believes his former Manchester United teammate, Angel Di Maria, could be the match-winner for PSG against Bayern Munich.

PSG defeated RB Leipzig in the Champions League semi-final a few days ago, while Bayern eliminated Lyon from the competition.

Writing in his column for Sunday Times, Rooney said: “Bayern have the advantage that most of their starting line-up have played in the Champions League final before. But I’ve got a feeling for PSG.

“It will be a shoot-out, and I think with Neymar, Mbappe and Di Maria, PSG will exploit the high line that Bayern play. They’ll get chances and take them.

“I’ve no doubt that the press will create chances for Bayern, but PSG are good enough in possession to deal with it, and once they play through it there’ll be opportunities for their attackers.

“PSG’s match-winner might just be Di Maria. He is a wonderful player. He works tirelessly on the pitch, and his delivery, vision and awareness are brilliant.”

The kick-off time for the match is 8 pm.