Two of European football's biggest names will compete for the Champions League trophy at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium this evening when Real Madrid take on Liverpool in Kiev.
Madrid are looking for a third successive Champions League crown - something which has not been achieved since 1976 - and a 13th title overall.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are appearing in the final for the first time since 2007 and have not lifted the trophy since their remarkable comeback in Istanbul 13 years ago.
Make sure you don't miss a moment of the buildup to the biggest match in club football courtesy of Sports Mole's live updates below.
Should Salah or Ronaldo lead their team to the trophy then they would surely be favourites for the award, although events at the World Cup could well change matters later this summer.
🎶 "Mo Salah, Mo Salah, running down the wing" 🎶
— Real Madrid vs Liverpool live on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 26, 2018
Liverpool supporters are in full voice on the streets of Merseyside 🔴 pic.twitter.com/A1YXVRqe4q
Real Madrid won 3-0 at Anfield and 1-0 at the Bernabeu that season, although they were their first ever wins against Liverpool.
The intriguing aspect of this final is that it features two attacking teams, though, which has not been the case in Madrid's more recent successes against Atletico Madrid twice and Juventus. Madrid scored nine goals in three finals against those sturdy defences, though, so they will fancy their chances of getting a few today.
The Welsh winger has barely featured in this season's competition, but he has hit form in recent weeks with five goals in his last four starts. The likes of Karim Benzema, Isco and Marco Asensio provide stiff competition for starting places, but on current form Bale may fancy his chances of earning a place in the team tonight.
Aston Villa take on Fulham at Wembley in the Championship playoff final, and the game has just kicked off. You can followed every twist and turn with our minute-by-minute coverage here.
Zinedine Zidane has the chance to add his name to that exclusive list, though, and if Madrid win tonight then the Frenchman will become the first man to ever win the trophy three years in a row - not bad considering he has only been in the job for two-and-a-half years!
How are the nerves Liverpool and Real Madrid fans? Just three hours until kickoff in Kiev now, which means three hours until all of these Liverpool players play in the biggest game of their careers to date. This is such a hard game to call as it could realistically be a rout either way, or a draw, but one thing which does seem certain is goals. If both teams attempt to play their usual game - which we're hoping for and expecting tonight - then it has the potential to be one of the best finals of recent years.
Scenes right now in #ConcertSquare #AllezAllezAllez #LFC pic.twitter.com/nU0yOrqnBF
— The Guide Liverpool (@TheGuideLpool) May 26, 2018
Roberto Firmino has been on 🔥 in the Champions League this season...
— Real Madrid vs Liverpool live on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 23, 2018
🔴 Games: 12
⚽️ Goals: 10
🅰️ Assists: 7
He's always involved 🙌 pic.twitter.com/nFeWu3ECbN
Two of Roma's goals that night came late on so the nerves weren't quite as frayed as the scoreline might suggest, but it was still not an easy passage through to this showpiece event for the Reds, who had previously overcome Manchester City and Porto in the knockout rounds.
It took a 97th-minute penalty from Ronaldo to prevent Juventus from taking the quarter-final to extra time following a stirring comeback at the Bernabeu, while Bayern Munich had more than enough chances to have progressed from the semi-finals, only for Madrid to scrape through on aggregate.
Liverpool may not be as wasteful tonight, so there will need to be an improved performance from the Spanish giants if they are to lift the trophy yet again.
Goals in the Champions League this season:
— Real Madrid vs Liverpool live on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 26, 2018
🏴 Liverpool: 40
🇪🇸 Real Madrid: 30
Kop legend Ian Rush is expecting goals in tonight's final in Kiev. pic.twitter.com/8tGnnTKqt8
Others have managed the feat in the past, but never in the modern era with Ronaldo winning three titles with Madrid and one during his Manchester United days. In comparison, not a single member of the Liverpool squad has ever played in a game of this magnitude before.
The last team to play in the Champions League final without any member of the squad having played in it previously..... was Liverpool in 2005. Can't recall what happened in the final.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 26, 2018
The deadly front three have scored 29 goals between them in the Champions League this season - 10 apiece for Salah and Firmino and nine for Mane - which surpassed Real Madrid's own front three of Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema from the 2013-14 campaign.
Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer in this competition's history and also the top scorer this season alone, with his tally of 15 leaving him five clear of Salah and Firmino in the scoring stakes. Indeed, only Ronaldo himself has ever scored more goals in a single Champions League campaign.
Yesss Carragher lad 🏆 pic.twitter.com/wHwh3ykvIL
— Andy Wood (@andrewwood05) May 25, 2018
Salah's 32 goals in the Premier League is the greatest ever tally in a 38-game season, which is a remarkable achievement given all the great players to have featured in that league down the years, but he still has some way to go if he is to match Ronaldo's relentless consistency.
Neutrals will no doubt be hoping that both teams try to fight fire with fire and attack each other from the off, but messrs Klopp and Zidane may have something else up their sleeves this evening.
The Milan team that evening boasted some of the greatest players of their generation - from Maldini and Nesta to Pirlo and Shevchenko or Cafu and Stam to Kaka and Seedorf - yet Liverpool somehow managed to prevail on penalties in what is widely regarded as one of the most memorable Champions League finals of all time.
The bulk of those came during their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, lifting the trophy in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984, but the most famous of the lot was their most recent in Istanbul exactly 13 years ago yesterday when they came from three goals down to beat AC Milan on penalties.
The Spanish giants are currently in their most dominant period since that golden era with Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, becoming the first team to successfully defend the Champions League title last year and tonight they are bidding for a fourth crown in the last five years.
From cancelled flights to more than 48 hours on a coach, the Reds have managed to descend on Kiev in large numbers despite logistical challenges and they - like Madrid - seem determined to enjoy it.
Allez
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 26, 2018
Allez
Allez#WeAreLiverpool pic.twitter.com/h6JQBwvKjM
As if that historical pedigree of these two teams wasn't enough, it also features two of the best attacks in world football, so we should be guaranteed goals and an exciting game tonight - something which hasn't necessarily been expected in the buildup to the last few Champions League finals.
It is a final which promises goals, excitement and drama, but which way it will go remains anyone's guess.
Stick with Sports Mole for every twist and turn in the build up the game!
