Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid Prediction: Bellingham can win UCL final

The biggest game in club football has arrived. This year’s UEFA Champions League final will take place at Wembley between 14-time European champions Real Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund, who won their only European Cup in 1997. 

On Saturday night we will find out who wins this gargantuan clash and lifts the Champions League trophy aloft at the home of football. Of course, 11 years ago Dortmund lost the UCL final at Wembley to domestic rivals Bayern Munich, as Arjen Robbem scored a late winner under the arch. 

Now they are looking to right those wrongs, and beat Real Madrid on the biggest stage of them all. Below you can find my Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid prediction.

Team News

Marco Reus is set to start on the bench in his final game for Borussia Dortmund, and he will be desperate to finish his Dortmund career by picking up the biggest trophy of the lot. Edin Terzic made a couple of changes for the semi-final with PSG, starting with  Emre Can, Marcel Sabitzer and Julian Brandt in the centre and Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi on the wing. Expect the same line-up here. 

Frenchman Aurelin Tchouameni is the only real question mark for Real Madrid, and his manager Carlo Ancelotti has suggested he has a small chance of being fit for this final. Elsewhere, the big conversation comes in goal, where Thibaut Courtois is set to play, despite having missed most of the season through injury. Andry Lunin has done superbly in his absence, winning the penalty shootout against Man City, and will be unlucky to miss out here. Toni Kroos will be hoping to lift the Champions League in his final match before his retirement. 

Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid Match Odds

Borussia Dortmund are 11/5 to win this final, while Real Madrid are priced at 8/25 to win the trophy. A draw can be backed at 16/5, BTTS is 3/4 and over 2.5 goals is 71/100.  

Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10

The last five Champions League finals have all featured under 2.5 goals, and the last four have finished 1-0. Even when some of the best attacking teams in the world meet, Champions League finals just don’t feature many goals, as the pressure of the final just seems to get to the attackers. 

Man City could only beat Inter Milan 1-0, the same scoreline they were beaten by by Chelsea in 2021. Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris in 2022, and in 2020 Bayern Munich were 1-0 winners over PSG. At Wembley, I can see this being a really close game, but the odds we are getting on under 2.5 goals seem generous in my eyes. 

Jude Bellingham to score and Real Madrid to win 1-0 @ 29/1

Let’s pick out a correct scoreline, and correct goalscorer to boost our odds here. As I’ve suggested, this is going to be a low-scoring affair, so I’m backing Real Madrid to win by one goal to nil. It’s been the most common scoreline in recent finals, and I think Los Blancos are just going to be too strong for Dortmund, even though the Germans have been sensational in their run to the final. 

I’m also going to pick out Jude Bellingham to score the only goal of the game. The Englishman has been in sensational form this season, but this is a gut feeling selection, based on how he relishes the big moments. I think he will have the biggest of his career in the UCL final. 

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