The three UEFA club finals feature a mix of past winners in Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, and Fiorentina up against teams playing in their first major club final (Olympiacos and Atalanta) plus Edin Terzic's Borussia Dortmund.
History is going to made whatever happens e.g. will Los Blancos extend their record breaking number of Champions League victories?
Will Bayer Leverkusen complete an almost inconceivable invincible treble?
And will Olympiacos celebrate a first-ever European title in their own country?
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid. Champions League final 1 June.
Any analysis of Real Madrid has to start with the potency of their attack which features the talent of Rodrigo, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior (who terrorised the Bayern Munich right flank)
Prompting them from midfield is likely to be Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and the peerless Toni Kroos.
Add in a powerful range of subs including Luka Modric, Camavinga, and goalscorer Joselu and you have formidable options to decide any game.
Particularly when they can control possession, as is often the case.
Though there are reservations about the quality of the defence highlighted by their record of conceding goals in the knockout rounds of the competition.
But most pundits would judge with such an attack and with such a passing ability any weaknesses further back are surely minimised.
Guided by the ever-immaculate, and notably cool, Carlo Ancelotti, Los Blancos will have plenty of time to prepare for a record-extending 15th UCL crown having already clinched their 36th La Liga championship.
Dortmund have surprised many in reaching this final, having finished only fifth in the Bundesliga.
But they have negotiated a path past Atletico Madrid and ultimately PSG, in a game where the woodwork played a significant part, to return to a London final.
Last time they lost out to Bayern Munich when Jurgen Klopp was the coach, this time 41-year-old Edin Terzic will lead them out.
Terzic plotted the defeat of Paris including the stifling of Kylian Mbappe, but this time he will have to combat a wider range of threats.
Whether Schlotterbeck and the excellent Mats Hummels can sustain their defensive performance seems doubtful but if they are able to frustrate then the way could be open for Jadon Sancho to exploit Real’s weaknesses.
Sancho has something to prove to an English audience having lost his way at Manchester United, could this be the perfect stage for his revival?
But it is very hard to see Dortmund (despite being backed by a noisy version of the ‘yellow wall’) winning.
Real,in their Wembley debut, should showcase those talents and complete a fairly comfortable 15th Champions League triumph.
Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen UEFA Europa League final 22 May.
History beckons for Bayer Leverkusen who, with four matches remaining, could become the first team to achieve an invincible treble.
The Bundesliga title holders face two more league encounters prior to this UEL final followed by a German Cup final (against second-tier Kaiserslautern)
Even if they lose their unbeaten record (currently standing at record 49 games) they have been the undoubted star club of the 2023-24 season.
That has led to coach Xabi Alonso being top of many leading clubs ‘shopping lists’.
He has managed to develop a mix of younger and relatively unheralded players into a team that never knows when it is beaten.
As illustrated by their unbelievable ability to consistently score late goals (e.g. against Roma in the semi-final second leg) while maintaining a seemingly calm mentality.
With a squad featuring few ‘household names’ costing a fraction of the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid their Spanish coach can take overwhelming credit in moulding them into such a formidable outfit.
And they can certainly no longer be labelled ‘Neverkusen’.
Their opponents, who are 5th in Serie A, will be contesting their maiden European final .
Under coach Gasperini they have been transformed into regulars in the European competitions as well as the latter stages of the Coppa Italia.
Similar to Leverkusen this has been achieved by putting together a cost-effective squad of what some would call cast-off players.
Among them the likes of Ademola Lookman and Gianluca Scammacca.
Atalanta negotiated a route past Portugal’s Sporting before causing one of the shocks of the Euro season by winning comfortably at Anfield and knocking out Liverpool 3-1 on aggregate.
Gasperini allows a certain freedom to his team and though they will be second favourites in Dublin they definitely have a shot at a first European crown.
Perhaps on the basis that Leverkusen must eventually run out of steam?
Otherwise they will soon be building a statue of Xabi Alonso next to the Bay Arena.
Olympiacos v Fiorentina UEFA Europa Conference League final 29 May.
Olympiacos will not have to travel far for their first ever European final as this one will be staged at the home of AEK in Athens.
Coach Jose Mendilibar has crafted a path past Fenerbahce (just, on penalties) and, more convincingly, at the expense of Premier League Aston Villa.
His team is based on quite a mix of nationalities featuring Iberian, African and some local talent.
Among them are Moroccan striker Youssef El Kaabi (five goals in the semi-finals), Kostas Fourtunis, and Wolves loanee Daniel Podense.
Whether they can handle the pressure of a first European final in their own country will be one of the challenges for their coaching staff.
Bidding to survive the inevitably hostile atmosphere will be Italians Fiorentina in their second consecutive UECL final, having lost to West Ham in 2023.
Despite being effectively the away team the Viola will be favourites to lift their second major European title, having won the late Cup Winners Cup back in 1961.
Under coach, and ex-Verona player, Vincenzo Italiano they do have a stronger looking squad with Argentinians Beltran and Nicholas Gonzalez, Brazilians Dodo and Arthur plus forwards Kouame and Belotti.
Assuming they can control the threats from El Kaabi - with typical Italian defending - Fiorentina should have enough.
But if the Greeks can marshall the passion then perhaps there will be much celebrating up the road in Piraeus.
Analysis - John Bethell
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