2019 Champions League Final betting preview – Spurs vs Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur	+333 at Bet365	Place Bet
Draw	+260 at Bet365	Place Bet
Liverpool	-105.26 at Bet365	Place Bet

Bovada has installed Liverpool as favourites for the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, which is scheduled to kick off at 9pm local time this Saturday at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.

Most bookies have the Reds around -200 to lift the trophy and +100 to win outright, with Tottenham Hotspur paying +160 and upwards to spring an upset.

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Those numbers are hardly surprising when you look at Liverpool’s season to date.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were desperately unlucky to miss out on the English Premier League title, falling a single point shy of an inspired Manchester City in one of the very best title races in living memory.

Their Champions League dream looked over when Barcelona took a three-goal advantage in the first leg of the semi-finals, but Merseysiders responded in stunning fashion to clinch a 4-3 aggregate win at Anfield.

Some have called that the single greatest performance in Liverpool history – high praise for a club with such a rich record in European competition.

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Tottenham Hotspur cannot match their Premier League rivals for trophies or prestige, but they might well have pipped for the best comeback in this year’s UCL semis.

Ajax fans were already booking their tickets to Spain when Spurs clawed a three-goal deficit back to one in the second half of the return leg in Amsterdam.

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It looked like a case of close but not close enough until Lucas Moura threaded an impossible gap in the last second of added injury time to send the Lilywhites to their first-ever European Cup final.

This is rarefied air for Tottenham, especially after such an ordinary finish to their domestic campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men limped into fourth place in the EPL table, winding up some 26 points adrift of Liverpool and missing out on direct passage into next year’s UCL group stage.

However, nobody will remember any of that if they close out the season with a maiden Champions League title.

Tottenham Hotspur team news

The big news is the return of Harry Kane, who has not played since hurting his ankle in the quarter-final tie against Man City. If he starts, he will form a dangerous three-man strike attack with Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura on either side. There is some debate over whether Serge Aurier or Kieran Trippier should start at right-back, but otherwise the team is expected to take on a familiar shape.

Possible Spurs XI: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Eriksen, Ali; Son, Kane, Lucas.

Liverpool team news

The Reds are sweating on the fitness of Roberto Firmino, but the recent form of Divock Origi means a reliable replacement is at hand. Jurgen Klopp has rotated his midfield heavily this season, but the energetic trio of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum is expected to start in Madrid. The back five pick themselves.

Possible Liverpool XI: Alisson; Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Alexander-Arnold; Fabinho, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane.

Tottenham vs Liverpool first goalscorer tips

Son Heung-min – +900 at Bovada

Lucas was the hero in Amsterdam, but Spurs would never have made it that far without Son. The Korean forward is now one of the Premier League’s hottest attractions and poses a scoring threat no matter where he lines up.

Sadio Mane – +500 at Bovada

Liverpool had two blokes finish with 22 goals in the EPL, so picking between them is a matter of preference. One suspects Mohamed Salah will get more attention than Mane, who will fancy his chances against Tottenham’s right flank.

Spurs vs Liverpool Champions League predictions

If the semis are anything to go by, we should be in for a treat this weekend.

Both these teams are flush with high-quality attacking players who score goals in big moments, but this game might be won and lost in defence.

While Liverpool’s back five have been tremendous all season, there is a real concern that Spurs can be opened up down the flanks.

They have also had some dicey moments at set pieces of late, which is not encouraging when faced with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.

Anything can happen on the night, but all signs point to a sixth European Cup triumph for the red half of Merseyside.