3️⃣ big questions ahead of the UCL final ❓ | OneFootball

It’s here at last. Ahead of Real Madrid’s meeting with Liverpool in the Champions League final, we look at the three big questions to be answered in Paris.

Will Salah get his revenge?

Much of the build-up has centred on Mohamed Salah’s surprising admission that he wanted to face Real Madrid because he wanted payback for his heartbreak in the 2018 final.

On that occasion, Sergio Ramos injured the Egyptian to the point that he had to bow out early and in his absence, the Reds fell to defeat.

“I have to be honest, I want to play Madrid. If you ask me personally, I want Madrid because we lost the final against them,” said Salah prior to Los Blancos’ thrilling semi-final comeback against Manchester City.

Speaking at the FWA awards dinner after Real reached the final, he left nobody in any doubts as to his thoughts, saying: “The 2018 final was sad for all of us but it is revenge time.”

And just in case anyone still didn’t get the message, he made it clear on social media.

His tears upon being substituted still clearly sting for Salah, who is now determined to hand Real a slice of payback on the big stage, although the Spanish camp have been made well aware of his personal vengeance mission.

“It is good that a player can find motivation thinking about revenge,” Carlo Ancelotti said when asked about Salah’s statements. “But at Real Madrid, we’re always in the fight and we never give up due to the history of this club.”

Fighting talk all round.

Youth or experience in Real’s midfield?

Ancelotti’s choice of midfield options is going to be analysed greatly before, during and after events at the Stade de France.

Experienced duo Casemiro and Toni Kroos are modern day legends of this competition, having been there and done it on the biggest European nights plenty of times in the last decade.

But they both came in for criticism from local media in Spain for their showings against both Chelsea and Manchester City this season.

On top of that, Eduardo Camavinga excelled with his cameo off the bench in the comeback against the Premier League champions, popping up all over the field and adding an energy and composure that had been missing from their performance previously.

It would be the safer option to stick with the senators who have been over this course before but Camavinga’s semi-final showing was so good that it has prompted serious debate about whether the 19-year-old has played his way into the starting line-up.

It is the biggest team selection call Ancelotti faces as he aims to add to his bulging trophy cabinet.

How will Klopp cope with injuries?

While Ancelotti has a clean bill of health to report, his opposite number Jürgen Klopp isn’t quite so lucky.

There were great concerns over Fabinho after he limped off against Aston Villa with a hamstring issue.

But he trained on Wednesday, as did Joe Gomez who exited against Southampton through injury, leading to renewed optimism that the Brazilian is in line to return to the Reds’ starting line-up.

However, Thiago’s injury on the final day of the season appears to be much more serious, with his manager admitting that “it doesn’t look good” in terms of his participation against Los Blancos.

In addition, the Spanish midfield maestro trained alone in the gym, undergoing a light session with head physio Lee Nobes, during Liverpool’s media day.

That only increases the urgency for Fabinho to pass all remaining fitness tests to take his place in the Liverpool engine room.

To be without both could potentially be disastrous.