Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid 

Continental supremacy is at stake at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening, when underdogs Borussia Dortmund and seasoned Champions League pros Real Madrid square off in a 2023-24 final of titanic proportions.

For the Bundesliga powerhouses donning black and yellow, victory would end 27 years of hurt and seal Champions League title number two, while Los Blancos endeavour to etch their name onto the European Champion Clubs' Cup for the 15th time.

Edin Terzic's men were triumphant against Paris Saint-Germain in the final four to book their tickets to Wembley, while Carlo Ancelotti's troops denied their upcoming foes an all-German final against Bayern Munich thanks to a gripping second-leg turnaround.

Exorcising former Champions League demons under the Wembley arch is the goal for Saturday's unfancied unit Borussia Dortmund, 11 years on from helplessly witnessing Arjen Robben's scuffed shot trickle over the line for Bayern Munich in a 2012-13 Der Klassiker final in the English capital.

Departing club icon Marco Reus and rejuvenated centre-back Mats Hummels may be the only surviving members from that silver medal-winning troupe - the latter's CV also includes an Allianz Arena stint sandwiched in between - but none of Terzic's first-time finalists will require a sermon on the significance of June 1.

Coming up trumps in the tantalising Group of Death with AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United was a sign of things to come for Borussia Dortmund, who sent PSV Eindhoven packing without breaking too much of a sweat before a minor blip in the first leg of their quarter-final versus Atletico Madrid.

Suffering their sole defeat of the 2023-24 tournament at the Wanda Metropolitano did not hinder Dortmund's bid for European glory, though, as a phenomenal second-leg turnaround preceded a pair of exceptional 1-0 successes over perpetual bridesmaids PSG, shut out at both the Signal Iduna Park and Parc des Princes in early May.

After shaking hands on a 2-2 first-leg stalemate, a rocket from Alphonso Davies - potentially a future Blancos player - appeared to have extinguished Real's dreams of crown number 15, only for Espanyol loanee Joselu to write his name into Bernabeu folklore with a dazzling double to punch their ticket to Wembley.

Thanks to the astounding individual efforts of the erstwhile Magpie, Real Madrid's iconic logo will appear on the front cover of the Champions League final programme for the 18th time on Saturday, and only three of Los Blancos' previous 17 appearances in the trophy match have ended in heartbreak.

In fact, it has been a staggering 43 years since the Spanish behemoths came out second best in the showpiece, and since that crushing loss versus Liverpool in 1981, Real Madrid have triumphed in each of the last eight Champions League finals in which they have been present.

Extending that phenomenal sequence would seal a terrific treble of trophies for the reigning La Liga and Supercopa de Espana champions, who may have concluded the regular top-flight campaign by dropping four points against Villarreal and Real Betis, but little sleep should be lost over those two stalemates.

Unbeaten in 25 straight matches since January's Copa del Rey beating at the hands of Atletico, Ancelotti's men have also found the net in every single one of their fixtures away from their Bernabeu base in the 2023-24 season, another promising omen ahead of Saturday's European extravaganza.