Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — This Saturday football royalty will be crowned after a grueling Champions League season that featured an explosion of goals during the quarterfinals and culminates with a Germany vs. Spain faceoff at Wembley Stadium in London.

Borussia Dortmund enters the match in better form – having won four of its last five games in all competitions – but faces a Real Madrid club that has won all eight finals they have contested since 1992, when the Champions League replaced the European Cup.

Real has also won five Champions League titles in the past 10 seasons for a total of 14 European crowns.

This is the second third time Dortmund has reached a Champions League final. The club won its only title in 1997 and lost to Bayern Munich in the 2013 title match.

Borussia Dortmund Champions League Statistics

The German side narrowly secured a Champions League spot for next season, finishing fifth in the Bundesliga this season behind Bayern Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig. Dortmund scored 77 goals in the Bundesliga – the fourth highest goal tally – and allowed 39 – tied for the second fewest allowed.

Edin Terzic’s team will likely need to rely on that stout defense to contend against a Madrid team that has averaged 2.17 goals per contest in the Champions League.

Dortmund has conceded just nine goals in 12 Champions League matches, with veteran Mats Hummels and 24-year-old Nico Schlotterbeck anchoring the back line.

Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel held Paris Saint-Germain scoreless in both legs of the semifinals to advance 2-0 on aggregate.

Dortmund held clean sheets in half of its Champions League matches this run, with Kobel securing all of them. He tallied 41 saves and eight goals allowed in 11 matches, plus he saved one of the two penalty kicks he’s faced.

German forward Niclas Füllkrug has the club lead for goals with three during the Champions League. Twelve players have scored at least one goal, with eight tied at one goal apiece.

Dutch forward Donyell Malen led the club in goals during the German season – with 13 in 27 matches – but has managed just one goal in seven Champions League matches.

Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer leads the team in assists during the Champions League with five in 11 matches played.

Real Madrid Champions League Statistics

The Spanish club has managed three clean sheets in 12 Champions League matches but have gone undefeated during the campaign.

Madrid certainly had the more nerve-racking path to the finals, surviving a penalty shootout to advance past Manchester City in the quarterfinals and getting two goals from Joselu past the 87th minute to shock Bayern Munich in the semifinals.

This season’s LaLiga champions averaged 0.68 goals allowed per match during the Spanish season but gave up an average of 1.25 goals per match during the Champions League.

The last-second win over Bayern Munich was the club’s only win in the last five Champions League contests. Madrid drew in four consecutive contests dating back to March 6.

Their scoring distribution has been incredibly even throughout the run, with three players tied for the club lead with 5 goals apiece.

Brazilian forwards Rodrygo and Vinicius Júnior have been the most potent duo in the Champions League this season. Both 23-year-olds have tallied five goals, while Vinicius has four assists and Rodrygo added  two. Spanish forward Joselu, 34, also has five goals in the competition.

Eight players have scored during the Champions League run and 11 have tallied an assist.

Vinicius and Englishman Jude Bellingham share the club lead for assists with four.

Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin has managed two clean sheets in eight contests with 10 goals allowed and 34 saves. The Spanish international Kepa Arrizabalaga has played in four matches, logging one clean sheet with five goals allowed and 10 saves.

Madrid’s usual keeper, Thibaut Courtois, has not played this season after he ruptured a cruciate ligament in his left knee last August and then suffered a meniscus injury in his right knee in March.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team scored the most goals in LaLiga this season (87) and allowed the fewest (26).

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