Will BVB take the European soccer crown?

The biggest and most important match of the 2023/24 soccer season will take place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening from 21:00. Borussia Dortmund will face Real Madrid in the Champions League final. For many of the Black & Yellows, it is the most important match of their careers, and for the success-accustomed Madrilenians, it is also a special final due to the conditions in Europe’s most famous soccer temple. The anticipation is huge, as is the tension, even though the Spanish champions and record European Cup champions are the clear favorites on paper

The original Borussians will remember the year 1997, however, when everything was in favor of Juventus Turin before the CL final in Munich, but Lars Ricken, Kalle Riedle, Andi Möller, Jürgen Kohler and Co. had a different plan. BVB won 3:1 and took the trophy for the first and only time so far

In view of the quality of the squad and, in particular, their impressive experience in the finals, it is difficult to make a suitable prediction ahead of Dortmund’s clash with Real Madrid. What is clear, however, is that head coach Edin Terzic’s underdogs will once again need an outstanding defensive performance to keep the competition’s second-best offense in check.

Toni Kroos, who will play his last match for Real Madrid, will be one of the driving forces behind the Galactic side’s attacking play. The international will finally end his career after Euro 2024 in the summer. In conjunction with our betting tip for a Real Madrid win, you can also take advantage of Betano’s attractive welcome package. It not only includes a 100 start bonus, but also a €20 free bet! Betano is also one of the ten best European Championship betting providers that are already offering attractive European Championship bonuses

Dortmund – Statistics & current form

For many black-and-yellow fans, a Champions League final involving Dortmund still sounds pretty surreal. However, in view of the very courageous and concentrated performances in the previous rounds, the club definitely deserved the highlight match on Saturday evening in London. Anyone who eliminates the then unbeaten PSV from Eindhoven, then the mental monsters from Atletico Madrid and finally the star ensemble from Paris in succession does not need to hide from the most successful soccer club of all time in the title match.

To pull off a surprise coup in the third Champions League final in the club’s history, they will need a near-perfect performance, another solid defensive display and, in all likelihood, the luck of the brave. Coach Edin Terzic has been able to rely on the latter two parameters in particular in the competition so far.

BVB have conceded just nine (!) goals in a total of twelve CL matches. Gregor Kobel or his deputy Alex Mayer have kept a clean sheet six times. Only two teams – Paris St. Germain (in the group stage) and Atletico Madrid – were able to score twice against the Bundesliga’s fifth-placed team. Added to this is the aforementioned aluminum luck, as Borussia was saved by the post or the crossbar no fewer than twelve times (!). In the two 1-0 wins against PSG in the semi-final alone, the French side hit the woodwork six times

Will BVB find success with their usual defensive tactics?

It doesn’t take a prophet to predict that the Terzic team will once again adopt a wait-and-see approach before the kick-off of the final between Dortmund and Real Madrid, preferring to receive their opponents deep and hoping for their own transitional play or set-pieces. In view of this, it is unlikely that there will be a festival of goals. Under bets are definitely worth considering, especially as only one goal has been scored in each of the last four Champions League finals and in the last five finals in Europe’s most important club competition, only one team has scored. Anyone betting on “Both score? No”, you can pick up attractive odds in the various sports betting apps

To go into more detail analytically, it will be important for the underdogs to find a good balance between compactness and relief. However, this could prove to be the ultimate challenge, as BVB’s attacking wingers will often be forced to defend deep against the Whites’ strong dribbling wingers. As a result, the transitional play will be wide and Black & Yellows run the risk of being squeezed in behind.

Dortmund, who have lost just two of their twelve international matches this season, have a virtually full squad to choose from. With the exception of Bensebaini and Duranville, all players are available. No major surprises are expected in the starting eleven. The regular back four has been well-rehearsed for weeks and put in outstanding performances in the Premier League, Julian Brandt is expected to start alongside Can/Sabitzer and Sancho/Adeyemi/Füllkrug will probably start in the three-man attack. Reus, Malen or Haller are potential alternatives and are certainly dreaming of their own personal “Lars-Ricken moment”.

Predicted Dortmund line-up:

Real Madrid – Statistics & current form

“El Madrid no juega finales, las gana”. Translated, this phrase means that Real Madrid don’t play finals, they win them. This somewhat arrogant saying is logically based on the club’s history, which quite rightly makes it the most successful soccer club in Europe. The men from the Spanish capital have played 17 finals in the most important of the European Cup competitions to date and won 14 of them! They have also won all eight of their Champions League titles since 1992/93. Since 2014, the “white ballet” has won the trophy five times.

In view of these monumental statistics and the sensational odds of victory in important matches, it is undoubtedly understandable that lower odds are being offered on the success of the galactic side ahead of the upcoming final between Dortmund and Real Madrid. On the three-way market, the highest odds are currently 1.72 for the favorite to win after regular time. The Betano sports betting app can be used for a Real victory after extra time (@14.00) or a penalty shoot-out (@9.00). Incidentally, Betano is also giving away tickets for the upcoming European Championship, where Real coach Ancelotti’s compatriots are among the favorites to win the European Championship title

Will Ancelotti’s experience be the X-factor?

The aforementioned coaching staff can provide a further argument for betting on the favorite. Ancelotti has decades of experience at this level and has already won the Champions League four times. The Italian knows exactly how to prepare his team for such a final and is likely to be a good deal ahead of his much younger opponent on the BVB bench in this respect

While Terzic talked about his youth in the press conference and reviewed the day of the CL success in 1997, “Don Carlo” answered the question of what his final day would look like with “broccoli, pasta, salmon, a little siesta – then we’re ready to go”. In terms of self-evidence/excitement, there are (not only) perceived worlds between the coaches and their teams

Real Madrid also only boil with water

Although the praise is justified, there are also negative aspects that should not be neglected. For example, the Madrilenians have drawn four of their six knockout matches in this year’s Champions League season. Against Manchester City in the quarter-finals, there was no victory in the first and second legs, against RB Leipzig in the round of 16, the Spanish champions also struggled to progress to the next round with a narrow victory and a draw, and in the semi-final against Bayern, it took a Neuer error to turn the game around.

On the other hand, the fact that the Whites could become unbeaten CL winners for the first time in their history, have only trailed for 90 (!) minutes in the top flight over the entire season and also have the second-best offense in the competition with 26 goals scored.

Vinicius Jr. deserves special mention here, as he has scored 31 goals in his last three CL seasons, more than any other player in Europe’s most important club competition. This season, the characteristically polarizing Brazilian has scored five goals and provided four assists. With his feared dribbles, the speedy left winger is certainly a candidate for a goal in the final. In the Happybet app, odds of 2.25 are available for Vinicius Jr. to score between Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Predicted Real Madrid line-up:

Dortmund – Real Madrid head-to-head comparison / H2H result

No other non-German club has played more matches against Borussia Dortmund in the European Cup than Real Madrid. The clubs have met 14 times in total, always in the Champions League or its predecessor competitions. Borussia have only won three of these 14 meetings. There have also been five draws and six defeats. Only against Manchester City does BVB have a worse winning record than against the Spanish giants.

The last head-to-head meetings date back to the 2017/18 season, when the Madrilenians prevailed 3:1 and 3:2 in the first and second legs of the group stage. The Black & Yellows have much better memories of the 2012/13 CL semi-final, when a brilliant Robert Lewandowski scored a brace to secure Borussia’s 4-1 home win and lead Dortmund to the final, which was famously lost to FC Bayern at Wembley.

Dortmund – Real Madrid betting tip

A crowd of around 90,000 will be in attendance at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday evening when Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid duel it out for the most prestigious and coveted trophy in European club soccer. On paper, the roles seem pretty clear-cut. The Bundesliga fifth-placed team is seen as the clear underdog against the 14-time European Cup winners from the Spanish capital. Bet365 is offering odds in the region of 3.50 for Dortmund to win the title against Real Madrid. Should they even manage to win after regular time, they could dust off 4.75.

Although the clarity of the odds distribution should be viewed with a little skepticism due to the fact that the Whites have only won two of their last six CL matches and are up against the best defense in the competition (6x to zero, only nine goals conceded), the experience factor should not be underestimated. The BVB professionals in particular will be nervous. The Real Madrid players, meanwhile, know the finals from years of experience. The Whites have won eight of the last eight title matches for the trophy

In addition, the individual quality of Ancelotti’s team is even more pronounced and the fast wingers Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo as well as free spirit Jude Bellingham are particularly difficult to get a grip on. We therefore think the underdogs from the Ruhr area will put in a decent performance, but ultimately expect the favorites to win, albeit not by much.

In principle, we therefore recommend a bet on the Galactic side to win between Dortmund and Real Madrid after regular time. At the moment, the maximum odds are 1.72 and can be increased to 2.07 with a corresponding combination of a maximum of four goals in the course of the match. In the end, it will be the cleverness, maturity and ruthlessness of the star ensemble from the Spanish capital that will make the difference