Liverpool face Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final in Kiev on May 26 aiming to prove they are back amongst the big guns in European football.

The five-time European champions beat Roma in the last four to advance to the final, while holders Madrid edged past Bayern Munich to book their spot.

The La Liga club are chasing a hat-trick of Champions League triumphs after winning the competition in both 2016 and 2017.

Bookmakers make Zinedine Zidane’s side slight favourites at 4/6 to defend their crown, with Liverpool on offer at 11/10, and punters can use this 4NJBets Promo Code to wager on the outcome.

Liverpool’s road to the final began against Hoffenheim back in August, with the Reds securing a 6-3 aggregate success in a play-off for the group stage.

They got off to a shaky start in Group E, drawing with Sevilla and Spartak Moscow. However, two victories over Slovenian side Maribor put the Reds in a good position to qualify for the next stage.

A second-half collapse at Sevilla – where Liverpool blew a 3-0 lead – put pressure on their final group game, but a 7-0 thrashing of Spartak Moscow saw the Anfield outfit into the round of 16 in style.

Liverpool started the knockout phase with a 5-0 victory at Porto and a dour 0-0 draw at home took them into the quarter-finals.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were drawn against the Premier League’s runaway leaders Manchester City in the last eight and they took advantage of some debatable referring decisions to record a 5-1 aggregate success.

Liverpool enjoyed a dream start to their semi-final first leg at home to Roma, racing into a 5-0 lead, but two late goals by the visitors set up a nervy return game in Italy.

The second leg was a see-saw affair, with Liverpool extending their advantage to five goals, but Roma battled back to reduce the deficit to one late in the second half. However, the Reds hung on to book their place in Kiev.

Madrid comfortably progressed through the group stage alongside Tottenham Hotspur and have gone on to defeat Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern to make it to the final.

The two sides’ most recent meetings came in the group stage during the 2014/15 season. Madrid won 3-0 at Anfield and 1-0 at home.

Liverpool haven’t won the Champions League for 13 years and their wait to claim Europe’s top prize could go on a little while longer.

Madrid’s defeat at home to Juventus in the quarter-finals showed that they can be vulnerable, yet they still found a way to win on aggregate and their experience in this competition should stand them in good stead.

Much has been written about Liverpool’s attacking prowess, but Madrid have the players to hurt the Premier League side and it’s difficult to see the trophy not heading to Spain once again.