Predict the number of Champions League final matches: Dortmund vs Real Madrid

Dortmund and Real Madrid will meet at Wembley to determine the 2023-2024 Champions League champion.

Overview

Real Madrid has won the Champions League 14 times, the most in the competition’s history, while this is only Dortmund’s third final appearance. Dortmund won their only title in the 1996-1997 season by defeating Juventus 3-1. In the 2012-2013 season, Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich in the final held at Wembley.

After narrowly defeating Bayern Munich in the semifinals, Real Madrid reached their 18th final, setting another record. Notably, Carlo Ancelotti’s team has won four matches this season after trailing, with only Barcelona in 1999-2000 and Real Madrid in 2016-2017 having better records with five such wins.

Conversely, Dortmund has benefited from the goalpost saving them 12 times this season, including six times across their two semifinal matches against PSG.

Key Players and Stats

Dortmund’s Mats Hummels, a hero in the second-leg semifinal, has played every minute of this Champions League season, a feat last achieved by Sami Hyypia in 2004-2005 for Liverpool. Hummels and his defensive partners must be particularly wary of Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid. The Brazilian has five goals and four assists this season, continuing from his seven goals and five assists last season.

Vinicius is on track to match Luis Figo’s consecutive seasons with over five goals and five assists, achieved in 1999-2000 for Barcelona and 2000-2001 for Real Madrid. In the last three Champions League seasons, Vinicius has been directly involved in more goals (16 goals, 15 assists) than any other player, with 17 of these contributions coming in the knockout stages.

Team News

Dortmund will miss Sebastien Haller, Ramy Bensebaini, and Julien Duranville. Haller’s absence likely ensures a starting spot for Niclas Fullkrug, supported by Jadon Sancho, Karim Adeyemi, and Julian Brandt.

For Real Madrid, Ancelotti faces a choice between Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin as goalkeeper. With David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni out due to injuries, Toni Kroos is expected to start, possibly playing his farewell match for Los Blancos.

 

Head-to-Head Record

This will be the 15th encounter between the two teams in European competitions, all of which have been in the Champions League. Real Madrid is the team Dortmund has faced most frequently in the tournament (14 times).

Dortmund has only won 3 of these meetings (with 5 draws and 6 losses). Among teams they have faced at least 5 times in the competition, Dortmund has a lower win percentage only against Manchester City (17%).

Despite Real Madrid’s 3-1 away and 3-2 home victories in the group stage of the 2017-2018 season, there is still hope for Dortmund. Historically, neither team has managed to secure three consecutive wins in their encounters.