Champion’s League Final Preview

With less than a week to go until the much anticipated Madrid derby Champion’s League Final, things are heating up.

Atletico go into the tie as La Liga Champions, the first team to break the Barcelona, Real Madrid duopoly since the 2004 season. However, Atletico are not without their problems as top scorer Diego Costa and Arda Turan are both massive doubts for the game with injuries. They go into the final looking to win the club’s first ever Champion’s League/European Cup, with city rivals Real on the other end of the spectrum hoping to win their 10^th title.

Real Madrid also have their own injury worries with joint golden boot winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who was pulled out of Saturday’s warm up against Espanyol. Striker Karim Benzema also has a niggle although Manager Carlo Ancelotti assures both were precautions and will be fit for next week’s clash.

The two sides have already met four times this season, with some interesting results. In the two legged Copa Del Rey tie Real smashed Atletico 5-0, although Atletico were largely seen not to be concentrating on the competition this year after last year’s success, now focusing on the league and Champion’s League. In the two league ties, Atletico came out 1-0 winners at the Bernabeu, and were held to a 2-2 draw in the return fixture at the Vincente Calderon.

So with both sides having proved they can beat the other it truly will come down to who is best on the night, who can create a moment of genius, or maybe just not making a mistake. Either way history will be made as either Real will become the first club to win 10 European Cups, or Atletico will win their first. It promises to be a night to remember.