The final match of the European club season should be one of its best. Juventus and Real Madrid have fought for from September all the way to June to capture the biggest prize in club soccer. The Champions League trophy awaits for either the Italian champions or the Spanish champions, and the spoils will be awarded on Saturday night in Cardiff.
Don't miss the Champions League action from Millennium Stadium at 2:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 3, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Juventus +197
Real Madrid +170
Draw +213
Over/Under 2
Odds Analysis
How much closer could it possibly get than this? Real Madrid is a PK -115 favorite over the course of 90 minutes, and it's the -135 favorite to hoist the trophy.
However, it's not just the Asian Handicap or the total of 2 that makes this so interesting. It's that the three traditional spreads are so darn close. Real Madrid is at +170 over 90 minutes, while Juventus is at +197. The draw, which is normally a significantly higher price than the favored money, is only at +213. Is this one going to go 120 minutes? It's clearly entirely possible.
How They Got Here
The defending of Juventus in the Champions League has been something else. Gianluigi Buffon has given up a grand total of just three goals over the course of the 12 matches in this tourney. The fewest goals ever allowed by a team in the Champions League was three from Ajax in 1996. The difference between that team and this one is that Ajax side didn't ultimately win in the finale. This Juve club absolutely still has a shot.
There's a question as to where the goal scoring is going to come from, but it's worth remembering that the Old Lady has been blanked in a total of just two matches over the course of the entire Champion League, and one of those was a fixture at Barcelona that ended up being of little consequence since the Catalan club lost 3-0 back in Turin.
Real Madrid though, comes into the Champions League Final having scored 32 goals over the course of the 12 fixtures. Los Blancos have put up at least two four goals in all three of their knockout round fixtures, including scoring at least once in every match they've played in the dozen.
The trek to get into the finale has been tough for sure for Real Madrid. The team had to fight through a Madrid Derby with Atletico Madrid, and that came on the heels of playing three and a half hours of soccer against Bayern Munich. Even though Napoli didn't really put up much of a fight, the Italian side was a lot better than 6-2 suggests from the Round of 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo has 10 goals and now has over 100 for his UCL career. He's not quite the Golden Boot leader at the moment; he's one behind Lionel Messi. But we wouldn't bet against him ultimately scoring twice in the finale and winning this award – and perhaps the Ballon d'Or with it.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Most are going to be on the side of Real Madrid in the finale, but we're trusting Juventus in this one. The defense record cannot be ignored, and time and time again, we see it's the team that defends at the back who ends up winning these big time finals. Real Madrid is a capable defending team, but it has a record of being suspect in these major matchups. Think about that 2-1 loss at home against Bayern Munich. Without some suspect officiating, Bayern Munich wins that match and perhaps is standing here in Cardiff.
We'll snare the extra vig with Juventus in what should be a nip and tuck final.
Champions League Odds: Juventus 1, Real Madrid 0
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