Clash of the titans in the UEFA Champions League final

Two of the biggest and most successful clubs in Europe are set to clash on Saturday evening at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. The stakes are high: who wins the match also gets the UEFA Champions League trophy, the most important piece of silverware in European football and also a big chunk of money. This is also a historic moment for both clubs. Real Madrid can become the first ever team to successfully defend a Champions League title, while Juventus can end a long drought in the competition as they haven't won it since 1996.

Juventus: dominant in Italy, lacking success in Europe

Juventus have been the dominant force in Italian football for the past six season, they snatches six consecutive Serie A titles and it seems they can continue for a long time as their domestic rivals can't improve enough to challenge them. Things have not been going so well for them in Europe, they have not won a continental trophy since 1996. In fact, they have won the Champions League just on two occasions, the first one was in 1985, before the competition changed format.

The last Italian team to win the Champions League was Jose Mourinho's Internazionale Milano back in 2010, when they defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final. The lack of success for Juventus is not due to lack of opportunities, they have played eight UEFA Champions League finals but lost six of them, more than any other team on the continent. The last time they have reached the final was in 2015, when they lost 3-1 to Barcelona at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Things could be different now as Juventus seem a lot more confident and solid than they were two years ago. In fact, they have faced Barcelona in the semi-finals this season and they have achieved something nobody would have dared to bet on: they have kept Lionel Messi and company scoreless for 180 minutes of football. Their defensive record in this season's Champions League is remarkable: just three goals conceded throughout the competition.

Another thing going for the Italian champions is the fact that head coach Massimiliano Allegri has the full range of choices available to him as only Marko Pjaca is unavailable through injury. Allegri will most likely start with his usual 3-4-2-1 formation but he could switch to a 4-2-3-1 at any time and that could be a very important advantage.

Last but not least, Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain has something to prove to Real Madrid. He was a Blancos player between 2007 and 2013 but the club decided to let him go even though he had scored 107 league goals for them during that time. He moved on to Napoli and then to Juventus and he is probably eager to win the Champions League trophy of his career.

Real Madrid, looking to make history

Real Madrid have the chance to become the first club to win back-to-back Champions League trophy, an opportunity that doesn't come too often. In fact, only Manchester United had this chance back in 2009 but lost 2-0 against Barcelona after having claimed the trophy in the previous season.

Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have been dominating the Champions League over the past few years, they have won five out of the last ten trophies between them (Barcelona three times and Real Madrid twice).

In the previous round Real Madrid had to go through a double derby against rivals Atletico but they made things easy for themselves with a 3-0 victory in the first leg. Atletico tried to fight back in the second leg, built a 2-0 lead quite early but a goal from Isco settled the dispute.

Isco is the main uncertainty in Real Madrid's starting eleven ahead of Saturday's final as Gareth Bale is fit again and ready to play. However, Isco has been playing extremely well while Bale was out injured and head coach Zinedine Zidane will probably choose to rely on the Spaniard once again.

A clash of stars

Both clubs have formidable players in their squads, players that will surely remain in the memory of football fans all over the world a long time after they retire. Juventus have legendary Gianluigi Buffon between the sticks, the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of football after his transfer from Parma was worth no less than 33 million pounds. He is also the only goalkeeper to have been named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, a real leader for the team both on and off the pitch. But Buffon has never won the Champions League in his career and this could be his last chance as he is 39 years old.

Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are not stars, but the three central defenders form a rock-solid partnership in front of Buffon and they are arguably one of the main reason behind the club's success in recent years. Striker Gonzalo Higuain is the biggest star in the team, a forward that has scored over 30 goals per season since he arrived at Juventus for a fee of 90 million euros.

As for Real Madrid, they have stars in every compartment but none shines brighter than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward has scored no less than 404 goals for Real Madrid in eight season, that's an average of just over 50 goals per season! He has won countless awards in his career and he has been decisive in important matches time and again.

Defender Sergio Ramos is another decisive player, he only seems to score when it matters the most. He has scored ten goals this season, but the fans will remember the late winner against Real Betis, a result which put the Blancos at the top of the table with a two-point advantage over rivals Barcelona.

Prediction

Between the rock-solid defence at Juventus and the formidable attacking prowess at Real Madrid, the two teams seem quite evenly matched. The bookmakers consider Real Madrid as slight favourites, but it will be very difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo and his team-mates to break through the almost perfect defence in front of Gianluigi Buffon. We can expect a tight match between these two teams, maybe not very spectacular in terms of scoring chances. This one could go all the way to the penalty shoot-out, where the ones with the tougher nerves and better luck will prevail.