Former Liverpool and Real Madrid star, Steve McManaman, has a foot in both camps and gets his chat on here with Louise Taylor.
He also knows a thing or two about scoring a Champions League final goal in Paris. This was a beauty: his 67th-minute jumping volley which put Real Madrid 2-0 up and on the way to a 3-0 win over Valencia in 2000.
Toni Kroos (the German man, not the Colombian dog), Luka Modric and Casemiro are set to be the midfield starters for Real Madrid in Paris.
That means Eduardo Camavinga will again be on the bench but Jonathan Liew says Liverpool need to be extremely wary of the Madrid supersub, who has played a key role in their run to the final.
Fans are already gathering in Paris. This was yesterday. Pace yerself, fella.
Liverpool’s new star, Luis Diaz, was formed and forged on the streets of Barrancas and his mark on the town is evident. This is a wonderful piece on the Colombian’s background by Iñigo Alexander. The pictures are fab too.
And, can this really be true, the Diaz family dog is called Toni Kroos!
Uefa has been criticised by disabled supporters’ groups over the number of wheelchair-accessible spaces at Saturday’s Champions League final.
Paul MacInnes reports that 76 positions accommodating wheelchairs will be available to fans of Liverpool and Real Madrid at Stade de France, despite the stadium listing 550 wheelchair-accessible spaces.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has made 50 saves in the Champions League this season, more than any other goalkeeper. Liverpool’s Alisson is joint-13th with 14 stops. Of course, you can interpret that two ways.
Without doubt though, Courtois has been worth his weight in gold during Madrid’s madcap journey to the final.
Our man in Madrid, Sid Lowe, looks at the impact of the Belgian stopper.
Liverpool’s team selection should be straightforward: pick Ibrahima Konaté and 10 others. Why? The Frenchman has played 28 times for the Reds since joining from RB Leipzig last summer and never lost. Andy Hunter interviews the central defender, who grew up on a council estate less than 10km from the Stade de France.
Karen Carney previews the Champions League final and says Luis Diaz has to start for Liverpool. She also has praise for two other stars on show in Paris.
Liverpool’s forwards have impressed all season but their most important player is Virgil van Dijk. He is their most valuable asset. Salah, Mané and Thiago rightly get a lot of plaudits but if I were to take one player from the Liverpool team, I would take Van Dijk. He will need to be at his best because Liverpool will have to keep Karim Benzema quiet. When I watched Real Madrid at Chelsea, it was a one-man Benzema show. He is the best player I’ve seen live in 18 months.