It goes without saying that Spanish teams have dominated European soccer of late. Once Saturday night in Milan is over with, La Liga teams will have won the last six major European championships. Sevilla finished off the Europa League title for the third straight year last week, and it'll be up to either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid to stake their claim to European glory in the Champions League Final on Saturday night.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Real Madrid +150
Atletico Madrid +203
Draw +223
Over/Under 2 (over -119)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Finals in major tournaments generally featured tighter play at the back and more cautious play at the front, and we think that's how this one is set to shape up as well. That's why the total is so low at 2 and -119 vig on the over, especially with as stingy as Atletico Madrid has historically been.
There isn't a heck of a lot separating these two Spanish sides. Real Madrid is the slight favorite to hoist the UCL title, but it isn't an odds-on favorite to win this match in 90 minutes. Los Galacticos are +150 on the moneyline to get the job done in normal time.
KEY INJURIES
Three years ago, Atletico Madrid was rocked by Real Madrid in the Champions League Final, but in that match, the team was out of sorts and had a ton of players who weren't fully fit in the fixture.
Now, it's Real Madrid which has its injury concerns. We know that Cristiano Ronaldo is going to play in this match for Los Galacticos, but he's been dealing with injuries at the end of the season which could hamper him.
Diego Simeone and his side will be at full strength for the finale at the San Siro.
LIVE BETTING
The real question live bettors should be asking in this game is what the pace is going to be like. Atletico Madrid would love to slow this match down and be tactical on the ball. If the Atleti can possess the ball for at least 50 minutes or so in normal time, they'll have a shot at this match. If Real Madrid is on it more often than not and is running free with CR7 and James Rodriguez up front, there are going to be some real problems for Atletico Madrid. Live bettors should react accordingly.
QUICK PICK
It's almost strange to think that neither of these teams had the opportunity to play for any silverware this year before this point. That said, this is the prize of all prizes, and whichever team figures out how to grab it will get a massive influx of cash and the biggest trophy in European soccer.
The biggest drawback we see here with Atletico Madrid is that Antoine Griezmann is really the only hope up front. He has seven goals in this tournament and has been fantastic, but we know he's really going at this alone against Real Madrid's back line.
Los Galacticos have so many more options. Not only is Ronaldo capable of going off at any given time, but Gareth Bale saved his best play of the season for the tail end of it, and Karim Benzema is as dangerous of a third option scorer as there is in the entire world.
The matches in La Liga this year might provide a bit of a hint of what's to come. The two teams drew at a goal apiece at the Vicente Calderon early on, while in February, Atleti was able to go on the road and snare a massive 1-0 victory at Real. Goals were hard to come by, and that doesn't suit Real Madrid well.
This Atletico Madrid team is just so much better suited to win this fixture than it was at the same spot three years ago. We wouldn't be shocked if this one goes into extra time, but that one moment of brilliance which could come from Griezmann might end up making all the difference.
Champions League Odds: Atletico Madrid 1, Real Madrid 0 (AET)
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