Second consecutive trophy or a historic first Champions League title – PSG vs. Arsenal preview
Kyiv • UNN
On Saturday, PSG and Arsenal will compete for the Champions League trophy in Budapest. The Parisians are defending their title, while the Londoners are fighting for the first trophy in their history.
On Saturday, May 30, in Budapest, Ilya Zabarnyi's French side PSG and London's Arsenal will compete for the most prestigious club trophy—the Champions League cup. The French will try to secure their second consecutive victory in the tournament, while the Londoners aim for the first trophy in the club's history. UNN reports on what is known ahead of the final, where to watch, and who the bookmakers' favorite is.
Details
The final of the most prestigious club tournament in world football for the 2025/26 season will be hosted by the Puskás Aréna in the capital of Hungary, Budapest. Previously, in the 2022/2023 season, the arena hosted the Europa League final, where Sevilla triumphed over Roma, and now it will host the main match of the European football club calendar for the first time.
Puskás Aréna
The final will feature the reigning tournament winners Paris Saint-Germain, for whom Ukrainian Ilya Zabarnyi plays, and London's Arsenal. The Parisians could become the second club in the Champions League era to defend the trophy, while the "Gunners," who reached the final in 2006, will try to become the 25th winner in the tournament's history.
Before the final, fans will be entertained by the American band The Killers, who will perform as the headliners of the final show.
The Killers
Also, the world-famous Hungarian pianist Ádám György will perform the Champions League anthem, as well as other compositions at the final match in Budapest. The musician will once again perform the role he previously held before the 2023 final in Istanbul.
A native of Budapest and a regular guest at New York's Carnegie Hall, he has long demonstrated his virtuoso skills at major football events—in particular, he performed at the opening ceremony of EURO 2012, which took place in Poland and Ukraine.
Ádám György performing the Champions League anthem in 2023 at the stadium in Istanbul
Champions League Festival
On Thursday, May 28, the Champions League Festival kicked off in Budapest. Legendary Brazilian defender Cafu, the 2007 Champions League winner with AC Milan and a teammate of Andriy Shevchenko at the Italian club, brought the trophy to Heroes' Square, launching the football celebration. By Thursday evening, more than 25,000 people had visited the festival.
On the opening day of the Champions Festival, the squads for the four teams participating in the traditional Ultimate Champions Legends tournament were announced.
Cafu with the Champions League trophy
At the Champions Festival, fans can expect a variety of entertainment. In particular, on Friday evening, English DJ and chart-topper SIGALA will perform on the main stage in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. The performance will start at 21:00.
What you should know before the final
So far, only nine teams have managed to go through an entire Champions League season without a single defeat, and Arsenal is just one match away from becoming the next. Standing in the Londoners' way is Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning winner and the first trophy holder since Real Madrid to defend the title in the final. The Madrid side did this twice in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons.
The final at the Puskás Aréna is reminiscent of last season's semi-final, where the teams already met. In that confrontation, Luis Enrique's team won both matches and triumphed 3:1 on aggregate, then crushed Inter 5:0 in the final to win the Champions Cup for the first time in history.
In total, the teams have met five times, and until last season's Champions League semi-final, the Parisians had never won. Arsenal won during the league phase of the last edition, and in the 2016/17 season, the rivals drew twice.
The teams moved toward the Budapest final in different ways. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal demonstrated solid defensive play—the "Gunners" kept a clean sheet in nine matches and conceded only four times in the league phase. Brilliant victories over Atletico, Bayern, and Inter alternated with more tense encounters in the playoffs against Bayer, Sporting, and the same Atletico.
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PSG's trump card was their prolific attacking play. The Parisians have scored 44 goals in this edition and could break the record of Barcelona, which scored 45 goals in the 1999/2000 Champions League. One of the best for the French club was Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian national team player scored 10 goals and provided six assists in this edition, with seven goals scored in the playoffs.
After impressive victories over Atalanta, Bayer, Barcelona, and Tottenham, the Parisians reached a new level in the playoffs. The French confidently bypassed Chelsea and Liverpool, and overcame Bayern in a thrilling semi-final confrontation.
Where to watch, the favorite
In Ukraine, the exclusive broadcaster of the final is the media service MEGOGO. You can watch the game live with a "Sport" subscription or as part of "MEGOPACK" packages. The live broadcast will be available on the "MEGOGO Football First" channel and in the special football section. The match is scheduled to start at 19:00 Kyiv time.
Analysts point to a 1:1 draw as the most likely exact score for regular time, with odds of 5.90. At the same time, taking into account possible extra time and a penalty shootout, bookmakers consider the French club the favorite to win the trophy with odds of 1.68 against 2.22 for the Londoners.
The odds for the result of regular time also lean slightly in favor of the Parisians—2.33 against 3.15, with a draw at 3.29.
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