Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid team news: Champions League final projected lineup, starting XI

Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid face each other at Wembley, on Saturday, in the UEFA Champions League final, in a definitive David vs. Goliath scenario. As always, you can catch all the action on CBS, Paramount+CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network. Both teams have already been champions, although this is also unbalanced, with the Spanish giants trying for an unprecedented 15th continental crown and the Germans trying to add a second 27 years after the first.

BVB defeated Paris Saint-Germain to get here, while Los Blancos defeated Bayern Munich to avoid an all-Bundesliga final and Edin Terzic v Carlo Ancelotti promises to be a fascinating watch. The Italian tactician is chasing his fifth UCL title, while Real’s metronomic midfielder Toni Kroos is also bidding farewell to the La Liga champions here after announcing his decision to retire after UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil.

So far, Braga, Napoli and Union Berlin have been eliminated in the group stage and RB Leipzig and then Manchester City followed in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, before Bayern in the semi-finals. Real are in their 18th Champions League final with just three defeats and it has been 43 years since they lost to Liverpool in 1981, with eight successive final victories.

A treble victory awaits with La Liga and Supercup already secured and a 25-game unbeaten run will have Dortmund worried ahead of this one. Ancelotti’s side have also scored in every away game in 2023-24, although BVB are this season’s defensive kings in the UCL, with Gregor Kobel boasting six clean sheets.

Here are our stories, how you can watch the match and more:

Real Madrid’s main concern

Like David Alaba, who is also absent from this summer’s Euros due to an anterior cruciate ligament problem, Aurelien Tchouameni is out after a foot injury and could still suffer the same fate in Germany despite being selected for the Les Bleus. Ancelotti’s solution is ready, with Nacho Fernandez likely to captain the team in central defense alongside Antonio Rudiger, with the Real veteran also being dropped after this, like Kroos.

Team News

Real: Jude Bellingham is fit and raring to go, but spare a thought for Andriy Lunin, who was expected to lose to Thibaut Courtois between the posts but may not even make the squad for the game due to an untimely case of flu. Otherwise, Kroos should start alongside Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde, although Luka Modric is not expected to start. It is unlikely that Joselu will be able to get ahead of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior at the top, despite being the hero of the semi-final.

Real Potential XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior.

How to watch and odds

• Date: Saturday, June 1st | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
• Location: Wembley – London, England
• To attend: Paramount+ and CBS
• Chances: Dortmund +400; Draw +300; True -154

Head to head

Dortmund and Real have already faced each other 14 times in the Champions League, with the Spanish winning six to the Germans’ three. The most recent meeting came in 2017-18 when Los Blancos won both group games, while BVB won the second leg of the 2013-14 quarter-final 2-0 despite a 3-0 defeat in the first hand, which saw them eliminated. This is arguably the greatest game of all time between the two, despite them winning a semi-final against each other in recent years.

Prediction

Real should have enough to win this match despite Dortmund’s excellent defense, so expect Bellingham to stun his former club and potentially score the winner. Choice: Dortmund 0, Real 2.

Champions League semi-final picks

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