It sees the meeting of two giants of world football, both in exceptional form, both on the verge of completing an historic treble. Barcelona’s exceptional run since February has been well documented, with the Blaugrana steadily gathering momentum, sweeping all before them and playing the kind of soccer synonymous with their lauded heritage.
They are quite rightly favorites in Berlin because for one thing, they have Lionel Messi. Whether or not this has been Messi’s best-ever season is open to debate, but what is more clear cut is the fact that it has almost certainly been his most effective campaign.
Not only has his blistering scoring continued (58 goals in all competitions) but he was also La Liga’s leading giver of assists, which is testament to the understanding he has built with fellow forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez since their arrival at the Camp Nou.
Between them the trio have netted 120 times this season, and couple that with a defense that conceded just 21 goals in 38 league games, it is evident there is a balance in the Barcelona side which is a recipe for success.
And yet they face a Juventus side that also has been exceptional this season. The Old Lady of Italian football has topped Serie A for the fourth successive year, boasting the best attack with the meanest defense, and in the Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid they were magnificently organized.
There is however a feeling that perhaps Juve was better set up to deal with the threat of Madrid, as Max Allegri’s team forced Los Blancos out wide and then dealt effectively with their crosses. Barcelona will be harder to nullify, especially without key defender Giorgio Chiellini. Juve is a big underdog, priced at 5-to-1 odds (+500) at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook to win in 90 minutes. A Catalan triumph is offered at -180 and the draw at +310.
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Only the most hardened of bettors will be investing in a Barcelona win outright, although there are better ways to back the Spanish champions.
The price of -140 for them to score OVER 1.5 goals is not enormous but might be large enough to tempt some, given it has paid out in 10 of Barcelona’s last 11 matches in the competition. This is an extremely solid selection considering Chiellini’s absence, but those seeking a more adventurous option could do worse than investing in Draw/Barcelona in the halftime/full time market at odds of 7-to-2.
It is easy to see Barcelona coming out strong in the first half, Juve weathering the storm but ultimately succumbing in the second period.
The Italians were level at halftime in three of their last last four Champions League matches, and they are capable of matching the Blaugrana for 45 minutes. But not for the whole game.
For the biggest club game in world football, we will be bold and back Barcelona to win in 90 minutes after being level at halftime.
Goal.com best bet: Draw/Barcelona (halftime/full time) at 7/2
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL ODDS AND PROPS
TO WIN OUTRIGHT: JUVENTUS +290 BARCELONA -350
90 MINUTES+INJURY TIME 2 WAY RESULT: JUVENTUS +1 -120 BARCELONA -1 EVEN
TOTAL 2½ goals OVER -110 2½ goals UNDER -110
90 MINUTES+INJURY TIME 3 WAY RESULT: JUVENTUS +500 BARCELONA -180 DRAW +310
1ST HALF WAGERING: JUVENTUS +½ -145 BARCELONA -½ +125
1ST HALF TOTAL: 1 goal OVER -110 1 goal UNDER -110
2ND HALF WAGERING (EXCLUDES EXTRA TIME AND PENALTY SHOOTOUT): JUVENTUS BARCELONA
TEAM TO SCORE FIRST: JUVENTUS +210 BARCELONA -250
WILL A GOAL BE SCORED IN FIRST 15 MINUTES OF THE GAME? YES +240 NO -280
ALTERNATE SPREADS: JUVENTUS -½ +500 BARCELONA +½ -700
JUVENTUS PICK +375 BARCELONA PICK -450
JUVENTUS +½ +160 BARCELONA -½ -180
JUVENTUS +1½ -200 BARCELONA -1½ +175
ALTERNATE TOTALS: 1½ OVER -335 1½ UNDER +275
2 OVER -215 2 UNDER +185
3 OVER +165 3 UNDER -185
3½ OVER +260 3½ UNDER -310
CORRECT SCORE (90 MINUTES+INJURY TIME RESULT): JUVENTUS 0, BARCELONA 0 10/1 JUVENTUS 0, BARCELONA 1 11/2 JUVENTUS 0, BARCELONA 2 13/2 JUVENTUS 0, BARCELONA 3 10/1 JUVENTUS 0, BARCELONA 4 20/1 JUVENTUS 1, BARCELONA 0 15/1 JUVENTUS 1, BARCELONA 1 13/2 JUVENTUS 1, BARCELONA 2 7/1 JUVENTUS 1, BARCELONA 3 12/1 JUVENTUS 1, BARCELONA 4 25/1 JUVENTUS 2, BARCELONA 0 30/1 JUVENTUS 2, BARCELONA 1 16/1 JUVENTUS 2, BARCELONA 2 15/1 JUVENTUS 2, BARCELONA 3 25/1 JUVENTUS 2, BARCELONA 4 50/1 JUVENTUS 3, BARCELONA 0 100/1 JUVENTUS 3, BARCELONA 1 50/1 JUVENTUS 3, BARCELONA 2 50/1 JUVENTUS 3, BARCELONA 3 80/1 JUVENTUS 3, BARCELONA 4 150/1 JUVENTUS 4, BARCELONA 0 250/1 JUVENTUS 4, BARCELONA 1 150/1 JUVENTUS 4, BARCELONA 2 150/1 JUVENTUS 4, BARCELONA 3 250/1 JUVENTUS 4, BARCELONA 4 250/1 ANY OTHER SCORE 25/1
HALFTIME/FULLTIME RESULT (EXCLUDES EXTRA TIME AND PENALTY SHOOTOUT): BARCELONA/BARCELONA 7/5 BARCELONA/DRAW 15/1 BARCELONA/JUVENTUS 50/1 DRAW/BARCELONA 7/2 DRAW/DRAW 9/2 DRAW/JUVENTUS 10/1 JUVENTUS/BARCELONA 20/1 JUVENTUS/DRAW 15/1 JUVENTUS/JUVENTUS 9/1
ODDS TO SCORE FIRST GOAL (IF FIRST GOAL IS AN “OWN” GOAL, FIELD IS THE WINNER) LIONEL MESSI 3/1 NEYMAR 5/1 LUIS SUAREZ 5/1 PEDRO RODRIGUEZ LEDESMA 7/1 CARLOS TEVEZ 8/1 ALVARO MORATA 10/1 FERNANDO LLORENTE 12/1 IVAN RAKITIC 12/1 ALESSANDRO MATRI 12/1 ARTURO VIDAL 15/1 PAUL POGBA 15/1 RAFINHA ALCANTARA 16/1 ANDRES INIESTA 20/1 XAVI 20/1 SERGI ROBERTO 20/1 SIMONE PEPE 20/1 ANDREA PIRLO 20/1 CLAUDIO MARCHISIO 25/1 FIELD (all others) 20/1 NO GOALSCORER 10/1
TOTAL TEAM GOALS BY: JUVENTUS OVER ½ -160 UNDER ½ +140
TOTAL TEAM GOALS BY: BARCELONA OVER 1½ -140 UNDER 1½ +120
WILL BARCELONA AND JUVENTUS BOTH SCORE? YES -110 NO -110
WILL BARCELONA SCORE A GOAL IN 1ST HALF? YES -140 NO +120
WILL THERE BE A GOAL SCORED IN BOTH HALVES? YES -140 NO +120
WILL THE GAME BE DECIDED BY PENALTY SHOOTOUT? YES +800 NO -1400
WILL ANY PLAYER RECEIVE A RED CARD? YES +330 NO -400
WILL LIONEL MESSI (BARCELONA) SCORE A GOAL? YES -105 NO -115
WILL NEYMAR (BARCELONA) SCORE A GOAL? YES +175 NO -200
WILL LUIS SUAREZ (BARCELONA) SCORE A GOAL? YES +175 NO -200
WILL CARLOS TEVEZ (JUVENTUS) SCORE A GOAL? YES +290 NO -350
This story has been edited since its original version on Goal.com to reflect the odds offered in Las Vegas, where applicable.
