Borussia Dortmund meet Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 June.
UEFA.com previews the most prestigious match in European club football as the two clubs battle for the ultimate prize.
Champions League final at a glance
When: Saturday 1 June (21:00 CET)
Where: Wembley Stadium, London
What: 69th European Cup final
Who: The 1997 champions Dortmund vs 14-time winners Real Madrid
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch the Champions League final on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Dortmund have been the surprise package of this season’s competition in the eyes of many, coming through arguably the toughest group before seeing off PSV, Atlético de Madrid and Paris to reach the Wembley final. Those performances belied an inconsistent league campaign in which Edin Terzić’s men eventually finished fifth.
Also group winners – with a maximum 18-point haul no less – Madrid came through stern tests in all their knockout ties to reach the final, teetering on the brink against Leipzig, Manchester City and Bayern before reaching their 18th final in this competition. Their nail-biting progression was quite a contrast to their league form, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men easing to another La Liga title.
Madrid are unbeaten in their 12 matches in the competition this season (W8 D4) but, remarkably, this is the first time they have reached a European Cup/Champions League final without losing a match. Dortmund have lost only one of their last 11 European outings (W7 D3) though, keeping clean sheets in six of those games and scoring the first goal in nine of their last ten matches.
BVB’s last Champions League final also took place at Wembley Stadium, where they lost 2-1 to Bayern in 2013, with Mats Hummels and Marco Reus still playing pivotal roles for the club 11 years later. That experience will be vital against a Madrid side who are no strangers to the biggest game in European club football, and who have lost only one of their last 20 UEFA competition matches against German teams (W13 D6).
Predicted line-ups
Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Can, Sabitzer; Adeyemi, Brandt, Sancho; Füllkrug
Suspended: None
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Nacho, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior
Suspended: None
Form guide
Dortmund
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLWWWL
Most recent result: Dortmund 4-0 Darmstadt, 18/05, German Bundesliga
Where they finished: 5th in Bundesliga, German Cup round of 16
Real Madrid
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DDWWWW
Most recent result: Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis, 25/05, Spanish La Liga
Where they finished: 1st in Spanish La Liga, Spanish Cup round of 16
Expert predictions
Matthias Rötters, Dortmund reporter
I see Borussia Dortmund as the underdogs against Real Madrid, but that gives them a good chance of springing a surprise. While Dortmund often had problems with teams sitting deep in the Bundesliga, they were usually able to perfectly exploit the spaces offered by more offensive opponents in the Champions League. When BVB attack at pace it is difficult for any team in the world to stop them – and Madrid are unlikely to want to limit themselves to defending in the final.
Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter
Anyone drawing on the teams’ respective Champions League history and automatically assuming the Spanish side are shoo-ins to win will be thinking very differently to Real Madrid. Their six matches against Bundesliga rivals this season produced four single-goal wins, two draws, and hugely testing experiences each time. Tactically, athletically and mentally they expect this to be identical. Madrid have not lost a UEFA knockout final since 1983 against Aberdeen in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Talented? Yes. But such a remarkable will to win. The extra kicker is that Luka Modrić and Dani Carvajal could join Madrid legend Paco Gento as the only players to win the European Cup six times.
European Cup final pedigree
Dortmund
European Cup final record: P2 W1 L1 F4 A3
Most recent appearance: Dortmund 1-2 Bayern, 2013
Real Madrid
European Cup final record: P17 W14 L3 F43 A23
Most recent appearance: Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid, 2022
What the coaches say
Edin Terzić, Dortmund coach: “It’s almost surreal. I think in the grand scheme of things we deserved to reach the final. I know we won’t be favourites and it will be extremely difficult. But it’s just one match and, over the course of one game, anything is possible. We’ve proven that already.”
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: “We’ve had so many problems, so many big injuries, not just the guys who were out long term. We lost Vinícius Júnior, Bellingham and others for decent spells and nobody really talked about that. We have fantastic ability and character in this squad.”