Champions League Final Preview: Draw Determines Home Team at Allianz Arena
Before the decisive Champions League match (Munich, May 30), a formal draw ceremony took place. The finalists, Barcelona and Liverpool, learned who will play in home kit and who will be the nominal away team.
Main Event
Barcelona and Liverpool Learn Nominal Hosts for Champions League Final at Allianz Arena
Two days before the decisive match of Europe's premier club tournament, on May 28, 2026, a formal draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League final was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The finalists — Spain's Barcelona and England's Liverpool — determined who will be considered the nominal home team at the Allianz Arena in Munich, where the final will take place on May 30.
According to the draw, Barcelona was awarded the status of nominal home team. This means the Catalans will play in their traditional blue and garnet kit, and will also use the home dressing room and technical area. Liverpool, accordingly, will be the nominal away team and will likely wear their white away kit.
The final whistle will sound on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 9:00 PM local time (10:00 PM Moscow time) at Munich's Allianz Arena — the home ground of Bayern Munich, which holds 75,000 spectators and is considered one of the most modern football stadiums in the world.
Details and Statistics
The formal draw procedure for the Champions League final is a traditional ritual held a few days before the match. The formal "home" status provides virtually no sporting advantage, except for the choice of kit color and bench placement. However, there is still some psychological advantage — especially for teams that have superstitions related to kit color or which side of the pitch they prefer to attack in the second half.
As for the history of meetings between these giants on the European stage, statistics show 12 matches between Barcelona and Liverpool, including the famous semi-finals of 2019 and 2021. In 2019, Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp staged a historic comeback at Anfield, overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit to reach the final, which they subsequently won. In 2021, Barcelona took revenge by eliminating the Merseysiders in the Round of 16.
The path to the final was challenging for both clubs. Liverpool started the tournament as one of the main favorites according to the Opta supercomputer: at the start of the season, their chances of victory were estimated at 20.4%. However, as the playoffs progressed, these numbers changed — by the quarter-final stage, the Reds' probability of success had dropped to 7.12%. Barcelona, on the other hand, confidently overcame their opponents, confirming their status as one of the leaders of European football.
Interestingly, legendary Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher predicted exactly this final — Barcelona vs. Liverpool — back in September 2025 and named the Catalans as the tournament's main favorite. "I was impressed by their play last season," Carragher said at the time. The prediction turned out to be prophetic.
Context and Significance
For both teams, this final is an opportunity to end a long drought in the Champions League. Barcelona last lifted the "big-eared" trophy in 2015 — when Luis Enrique's team defeated Juventus 3-1 in the final in Berlin. Since then, the Catalans have experienced several painful early exits and a financial crisis, but now seem to have returned to the top of European football.
Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019, defeating Tottenham 2-0 in the final. Since then, the team has changed head coach (Arne Slot replaced Klopp in 2024) and undergone a major squad overhaul. For the Reds, this is a chance to win the club's sixth title.
The stakes in this final are not only sporting. According to bookmakers, the total prize fund for the Champions League in the 2025/26 season is around €2 billion, of which the winner will receive approximately €20 million just for the title, plus bonuses from television and marketing. But prestige is far more important: joining the club of winners of Europe's top competition forever inscribes the players' names in history.
What's Next / Next Match Preview
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League final will take place on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The match kicks off at 10:00 PM Moscow time.
The stadium is expected to be packed to capacity: all 75,000 tickets were sold out a month before the final. Fans of Barcelona and Liverpool are already arriving in Munich en masse — city authorities have announced unprecedented security measures in the center of the Bavarian capital.
In Russia, the match will be broadcast live on Match TV, as well as on the online cinemas Okko and Kinopoisk. Worldwide, broadcasting rights belong to Paramount+, and in the UK to BT Sport.
Editorial Prediction
The editorial team gives a slight preference to Barcelona. The Catalans have a more balanced squad, as well as additional motivation — the club has not won the Champions League for 11 years. Moreover, the final will take place in Germany, where Spanish teams traditionally feel confident (remember Real Madrid's final against Atletico in Lisbon 2014, which also took place on German soil — Real won then). The key factor will be the form of the forwards: if Barcelona's attacking leaders convert their chances in the first half, it will be difficult for Liverpool to come back on a foreign stadium. Our prediction is a Barcelona victory with a score of 2-1 in regular time, but full certainty will only come after the final whistle.
— Editorial Team
