Champions League Final Early Team News as Liverpool Sweat Over Fitness of Star Midfielder

• Liverpool are sweating over the fitness of Thiago ahead of the Champions League final
• The creative midfielder recently suffered an Achilles injury, although there is a chance he could feature for Jurgen Klopp’s side
• In contrast, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid has a healthy squad to choose from in all areas

The stage is set and the day is finally here as Liverpool and Real Madrid prepare to lock horns in the penultimate game of the season.

Two sides, who are very familiar with European glory will go head to head on Saturday, May 28 at the Stade de France for a chance to be crowned Kings of Europe once again.

For Liverpool, they have been European champions seven times while Real Madrid are the most successful club in the Champions League, having clinched it an impressive 14 times.

The two sides have a long history, which dates back to as recently as 2018, when they faced off in the same stage of the competition.

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Liverpool have the FA and Carabao Cup in the bag this season, and Klopp will be looking to make it a treble by winning the Champions League, after losing out the league title to Manchester City in the final day of the league campaign.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, are league champions in Spain, and Carlo Ancelotti will look to cap off a fairly decent campaign with European silverware.

Team News, Liverpool

Ahead of the clash, there is renewed hope for Liverpool over the availability of Thiago.

The midfielder headed straight down the tunnel before the end of the first half against Wolves last Sunday, and fans were fearful that the injury to his Achilles would rule him out of the Champions League final.

While Thiago is still a major doubt, fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Fabinho participated in full training on Wednesday, and is expected to have overcome a hamstring strain.

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The likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, who picked up knocks in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, are also expected to be available for in the starting XI, after being started on the bench against Wolves last week.

It is now a question of who Klopp will partner Van Dijk with, whether it will be Ibrahima Konate, who was at fault for Wolves’ opener last weekend, or Joel Matip.

Senegal star Sadio Mane is also available, and will likely partner with Salah and Luis Diaz up front.

Here is Liverpool’s predicted line up for the Champions League final:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz

Team News, Real Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping to have a fully fit squad to choose from ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

David Alaba, who missed the last game of the season against Real Betis, is likely to make a comeback to the starting XI, inevitably demoting Nacho Fernandez.

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In midfield, the experienced Casemiro, Toni Kroos or Luka Modric will likely be Los Blancos’ engine, with Eduardo Camavinga set to be on standby on the bench in case one of them gets injured.

Liverpool typically play a very high line and this would mean the likes of Rodrygo and Vinicus Junior will be deployed to run in behind.

Karim Benzema, the leading marksman in the Champions League this season, will obviously lead Merenguez’s attack.

Here is Real Madrid’s predicted line up against Liverpool.

Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Gareth Bale’s message to Liverpool

Elsewhere, Sports Brief reported of Gareth Bale’s bold message to Liverpool ahead of the final.

The 32-year-old took to Instagram that he is “ready” to take on their opponents, a strong indication that he could be part of Ancelotti’s squad tonight.

Despite being on his way out of Real Madrid, Bale has developed a knack of turning up for the team during big games.