Dortmund and Madrid meet in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 June.
What do you need to know about Dortmund and Madrid?
Dortmund has 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 is 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 lineups
Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Can, Sabitzer; Adeyemi, Brandt, Sancho; Füllkrug
Suspended: None
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior
Suspended: None