Match facts
Juventus have won the trophy twice, in 1985 and 1996, but have lost in the final six times – more than any other club.
Juventus have won nine and drawn three of their 12 games in this season’s competition, and are seeking to become the first team to lift the trophy unbeaten since Manchester United in 2007/08. United were the sixth club to win the UEFA Champions League without losing a match.
Juve are unbeaten in their last three meetings (W1 D2) with Real Madrid, since a 2-1 loss at the Bernabéu in the 2013/14 group stage with Ronaldo scoring twice in the first 30 minutes.
Buffon, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Claudio Marchisio all started the 2015 final for Juve, with Stefano Sturaro an unused substitute. Giorgio Chiellini missed out through injury.
Gianluigi Buffon is the sole survivor of Juventus’s 2003 final appearance in their 2016/17 squad.
There has never been a repeat winner of the UEFA Champions League. There have been plenty of sides that have won consecutive European Cups, but no side has yet to win two straight Champions League titles since its inception in 1992/93. Real Madrid could be the first team to ever do that in Wales.
This match is a repeat of the 1998 final in Amsterdam, won 1-0 by Real Madrid against a Juventus side featuring current Merengues coach Zinedine Zidane. That gave the Spaniards the seventh of their record 11 European Cups.
Madrid have won all five of their UEFA Champions League finals, a record number of wins.
Should Madrid triumph in Cardiff, it will be the tenth UEFA Champions League win for a Spanish side – twice as many as the next highest-ranked nation, Italy.
Ronaldo has hit the target in all four of his appearances against Juventus for Real Madrid – five goals in all.
Predictions
This is a very hard match to predict. Real Madrid come into this Champions League final as the defending champions. They have also contested two of the previous three finals, winning both, so Zinedine Zidane’s team certainly know what it takes to win this tournament.
Real Madrid are definitely more experienced side when it comes to Champions League Finals. Expect Ronaldo to give a top class performance in this match, where we should see him and his teammates lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Final Score 1 – 2
