(Getty)
History will be made regardless of who takes home Saturday’s Champions League title.
For Real Madrid, it would be the first successful title defense in Champions League history. Milan won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990, but no team has won back-to-back titles in the modern era. Madrid knocked off Bayern and Atletico to reach this year’s final, and are well rested after winning their first Spanish title since 2012.
A win for Juventus would mean the eighth treble in European history. The Old Lady has been dominating Italy for several years, but they’ve also lost more Champions League finals (four) than any team in history. Juventus allowed just one goal during the knockout stage of the competition, which included wins over Barcelona and Monaco. Saturday could be the breakout game for 23-year old Paulo Dybala, who scored four goals in Champions League play for Juve this season.
And then there’s the major decision for Zinedine Zidane. Gareth Bale wants to play in front of his home crowd, but he’s been dealing with an ankle injury and hasn’t played since April 23rd. Isco is the lesser-known of the two but he’s been a huge boost for Madrid, scoring five goals in his last eight games.
Here are the basics:
DATE: Saturday, June 3rd 2017
CHANNEL: Fox
KICKOFF TIME: 2:45 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all live streaming information
LINEUP
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Ronaldo, Kroos, Benzema, Marcelo, Casemiro, Modric, Isco
Juventus: Buffon, Alex Sandro, Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli, Pjanic, Khedira, Dybala, Mandzukic, Dani Alves, Higuain