Champions League 2023/24 final preview: Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid

All road leads to Wembley for the grand finale of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League campaign as 1997 Champions, Borussia Dortmund, squares off with 14-time Champions Real Madrid on June 1st.

Madrid are the most dominant side in this competition, and a win over Dortmund will see them extend their record for the most Champions League titles to 15. While their laudable encomiums on the Spanish side for reaching their sixth final in 11 years, this final is an even more special one as they could lift the trophy with an unbeaten record.

Los Blancos finished top of Group C winning all six of their matches before a nail-biting affair with Bundesliga side, RB Leipzig gave them a stern test but Carlo Ancelotti’s side were able to wither the storm to scale through. Another blockbuster encounter with Manchester City soon followed and after a thrilling 3:3 draw in the first leg, Madrid prevailed on penalties in the second leg thanks to the heroics of Andriy Lunin in goal.

For the second time in the knockout stages, Madrid faced another Bundesliga side, Bayern Munich where a dine-minute turnaround saw the Spanish Champions mount a comeback to win 4:3 on aggregate.

The Spanish Champions are now gearing up to face Dortmund– their third Bundesliga opponent in the knockout stages of the competition.

After losing their first match in the competition, not so many people would tip the eight-time Bundesliga Champions to reach the finals of the competition let alone win.

Yet, Edin Terzic’s side have defied all odds to reach the summit of the competition. Dortmund finished top of Group G and dispatched Eredivisie side, PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16. A comeback win over Atletico Madrid in the second-leg of the quarterfinals ensured a 5:4 aggregate qualification for the German side who put up an astonishing performance to dispatch Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the competition.

After witnessing Dortmund’s 2013 final defeat to Bayern Munich as a Dortmund fan, Edin Terzic is now set to lead the Black and Yellows to their third Champions League final and will hope his side avoids back-to-back defeats at the same ground where they played their last final.

Beyond the result of the clash, it will be an emotional atmosphere as club legends, Toni Kroos and Marco Reus will be playing in the final matches for their respective clubs. While Kross has decided to hang his boot, it is unclear which part Reus will take as he’s being targeted across Europe.

Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid match details 

• Date: Saturday, 1 June, 2024
• Location: London, England
• Venue: Wembley Stadium
• Kick-off time: 8:00 PM BST, 9:00 PM CET, 7:00 PM UTC
• Referee: Slavko Vinčić
• Assistant referees Tomaž Klančnik & Andraž Kovačič
• Fourth Official: François Letexier
• Reserve assistant referee: Cyril Mugnier
• VAR: Nejc Kajtazović
• Assistant VAR: Rade Obrenović
• VAR Support: Massimiliano Irrati
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Champions League final tickets through the club websites, UEFA or trusted resellers such as Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• These two sides have met 14 times with Madrid having the edge with six wins while Dortmund have won this fixture five times. Three of the matches between these two sides have ended in a draw.

• With Bayer Leverkusen playing the UEFA Europa League final, victory for both German teams could be the first time German teams will achieve the double in European competitions since 1997 (Dortmund and Schalke).

• Madrid have won all of their last eight UEFA Champions League finals. They have played in 17 finals overall winning 14 of them.

• Dortmund lost their last Champions League final match which was played at Wembley Stadium– the stadium for their scheduled final on June 1st.

• Only one team have scored in the last five Champions League finals with four of them ending in a 1:0 scoreline.

• Matt Hummel’s 114 ball recoveries are the most by any player in this season’s Champions League campaign.

• Only Belgian League outfit, Royal Antwerp have conceded more goals (17) than Madrid’s 15 goals in the competition this season. Invariably, Dortmund have conceded only nine goals and kept six clean sheets– the most by any side in the competition this season.

• Madrid have only won one of their last six meetings with Dortmund played outside the Santiago Bernabeu.

• Vinicius Junior is on course to become the eighth player to score in two finals if he nets against Dortmund.

• Luka Modrić and Dani Carvajal will be eyeing their sixth Champions League triumph with Los Blancos, the joint-most alongside Paco Gento’s record of six.

• This will be Dortmund’s eighth European final including the previous two Champions League appearances.

Team news

Aurelien Tchouameni is a major doubt for the clash against Dortmund with a foot injury he picked up against Bayern Munich. Ancelotti will look to pair Nacho Fernandes with Antonio Rudiger in the absence of the Frenchman.

There’s a consensus over who should start in goal with Andriy Lunin tipped to retain his place while the returning Thibaut Courtois is also tipped to retake his number one spot. Ancelotti will need to make a big decision and it is unclear who will be in post for Madrid at Wembley.

David Alaba is ruled out of contention in this match as the Austrian continues to step up his recuperation from a lengthy injury that has seen him miss most of the season.

For Die Borussen, left-back, Ramy Bensebaini is stepping up his recovery and recent reports indicate that he is closer to fitness. However, it is unclear if the Algeria International will return before the Champions League final as he still needs two weeks to fully recover.

Sebastian Haller featured on the bench in the semifinal clash against Paris Saint-Germain but is unlikely to feature in the match as he continues to build match fitness.

Donyell Malen has cleared doubts of any recurring injuries and the Dutchman should be fit to feature against Madrid.

Predicted starting lineup:

Borussia Dortmund predicted starting lineup:

Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Sancho, Füllkrug, Adeyemi.

Real Madrid predicted starting lineup 

Courtois; Carvajal, Rüdiger, Militao, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius.

Prediction

Not so many underdog stories in football are as unpredictable as that of Dortmund who were probably not among everyone’s top five favourites for the competition.

They’ve been a reflection of the unpredictability of the beautiful game and will look to leave it all on the pitch against tournament favourites, Madrid.

Defeating Madrid, especially in a final is no mean feat and the Los Blancos will be all out to secure a record-breaking 15th Champions League title.

A Tony Kroos-inspired side against a Marco Reus-inspired side, both teams will play their best games to give their respective German legends a befitting farewell.

Dortmund will make it a tough test but Madrid who are the more experienced side in this fixture should emerge winners.

We’re predicting a 1:0 win for Madrid.