Borussia Dortmund - Real Madrid odds and predictions: who is the favorite in the Champions League final?

Saturday’s Champions League final at Wembley will be an historic moment in the tournament’s history and could also see several entries in the history books rewritten. Much of that will be down to how the final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid pans out - what we do know is that this will be the last time the competition will be concluded in its current format. Changes will be coming for next season’s expanded edition, with an additional four teams qualifying and new, league format being introduced for the first time.

Real Madrid, pioneers and a dominant force in Europe

A Real Madrid victory would also prompt the history books to be amended. As it stands, the Spanish club is the most successful to have ever taken part in the competition - after winning the first edition in 1955/6, Madrid possess the most titles (14), is the team to have have participated in the most editions, played the most games and scored the more goals... among many other collective and individual records.

No coach has reached the final as many times as Carlo Ancelotti. This will be his sixth. The Italian also tops the ranking for coaches with the most titles - at the moment he has four: two with AC Milan (2003, 2007) and two with Real Madrid (2014, 2022).

Real Madrid have been here before, many, many times - this is nothing new for them and they won’t be overwhelmed, fussed or distracted by the big occasion. Their experience is unrivaled - Los Blancos have played in and won eight finals during the Champions League era - this will be their sixth of the past decade. As ex-player Gareth Bale noted this week, Real Madrid almost seem to have an aura about them in this particular competition - they have made it their very own.

Borussia Dortmund seeking a second title

That doesn’t mean that Dortmund will be incapable of causing an upset on Saturday. The Germans have been here too - maybe not quite as often, but this is the third time they have reached the final, having won their first and only title in 1997. Edin Terzic’s team took some big scalps en route to Wembley, eliminating PSV Eindhoven along with two of the favorites: Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout rounds. They also finished top of their qualifying group.

Dortmund have lost just two games in the current edition - a 0-2 defeat away at PSG in the group stage and losing 1-2 to Atleti in the quarter finals. They will have done their homework on Madrid and will be giving everything in London to clinch their second European crown.

Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid: betting odds

So how do the bookmakers see the final going? All have Real Madrid as the odds-on favorites - BetMGM has Madrid at -160 and Dortmund at +400; FanDuel have Madrid at -165, Dortmund at +440 and odds of +320 for the game ending tied on 90 minutes. Draft Kings have similar odds: -165 for a Madrid win, +320 for a draw and +425 for Dortmund to lift the cup.

Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid: prediction

Dortmund finished fifth in the Bundesliga with the third best defensive figures but too many draws left them behind Leipzig and Bayern Munich in the final standings. That pattern was repeated in the Champions League, they were held at home by PSG and Milan although they still managed to keep the French side off top spot to finish as Group F champions.

In contrast, Madrid strolled to LaLiga title, losing just once on the way and finishing with the kind of figures which tells you everything you need to know about the current side - 87 goals for, which works out at an average of 2.2 goals per game and more importantly, only 26 conceded - their second best figures of the last 20 years.

So whoever is guarding the net on Saturday, whether it’s Andriy Lunin, who shipped 32 goals in 31 games or Thibaut Courtois, now back from injury and vying for a place in the starting XI, it’s clear that this Madrid is an extremely difficult side to score against - possibly with the most solid back four we have seen in recent years. Courtois, who returned for the tail end of the campaign, is unbeaten - four league games, four clean sheets.

They’ve also had more time to rest having wrapped up LaLiga weeks ago. With all of that in mind - not to forget their vast experience, tradition and unflinching focus on bringing No.15 back to the capital, we can’t see Madrid letting this opportunity pass them by.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Real Madrid