Champions League Final: Your Complete Preview for Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea

Finally, the UEFA Champions League final is almost here.

Bayern Munich and Chelsea will compete for European club football's top prize Saturday evening in Munich. While you count down the hours, minutes and seconds, we've got your comprehensive preview right here.

Inside, you'll find all the information you need for both teams. Anything else? Leave a question in the comments.

Basics

First things first: Just the basic facts.

Who: Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea

When: Saturday, May 19, 8:45 p.m. Central European Time (2:45 p.m. Eastern)

Where: Allianz Arena, Munich (dubbed Fußball Arena München for the day by UEFA, for sponsorship reasons)

TV: Fox will show the game live on American broadcast television. Check your local listings.

Live blog: We'll be blogging all the action live here at B/R, so if you can't watch the game, follow along with us.

Check back Friday morning or anytime Saturday for details.

Road to the Final: Bayern

Bayern Munich, who finished third last season in the Bundesliga, defeated FC Zurich in the Champions League's final qualifying round last August. The 3-0 two-legged victory secured Bayern a spot in the group stage.

There, Bayern won Group A with 13 points, beating out Napoli, Manchester City (who eventually won the English Premier League) and Villarreal (who, incidentally, were relegated from La Liga this season).

In the first knockout round, Bayern overcame Basel, winning the second leg 7-0 after losing the first leg 1-0 in Switzerland.

Bayern then handled Marseille 4-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinals and eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid on penalties in the semifinals (after a 3-3 aggregate draw following extra time).

Bayern finished second in the Bundesliga this season, eight points behind Borussia Dortmund. The same two teams also met in the German Cup final, with Dortmund winning 5-2.

Road to the Final: Chelsea

Chelsea finished second in the English Premier League last season, earning direct qualification to this season's Champions League group stage.

The Blues won Group E thanks to a dramatic 3-0 victory over Valencia on the final matchday. The drama continued in the first knockout round as Chelsea overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Napoli by winning 4-1 (after extra time) back in London.

Chelsea then beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals and upset defending champions Barcelona in the semifinals.

Chelsea finished sixth in the English Premier League this season and won the FA Cup by beating Liverpool in the final. The Blues must win Saturday's Champions League final to qualify for next season's competition.

History in Final

Bayern Munich's eight previous appearances in the Champions League/European Cup final have resulted in four wins and four losses.

The German giants won Europe's top club competition in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 2001. They lost the final in 1982, 1987, 1999 and 2010.

Chelsea's only previous appearance in the Champions League final came in 2008, when they lost to Manchester United on penalties in Moscow.

Coaches' Corner

Roberto Di Matteo (pictured) took over as Chelsea's interim manager following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas in March.

Di Matteo, 41, played for Chelsea from 1996-2002, winning two FA Cup medals (1997, 2000). Previously the manager at Milton Keynes Dons (2008-09) and West Bromwich Albion (2009-11), he led the Blues to the FA Cup title this season as caretaker manager.

Jupp Heynckes is currently in his third stint as Bayern Munich's manager, having led the club from 1987-91 and again for less than two months in 2009.

Heynckes, 67, has won two league titles as Bayern's manager.

Key Player: Chelsea

Didier Drogba has cultivated a reputation as a big-game player for Chelsea.

The 34-year-old Ivorian underlined those credentials with yet another goal at Wembley in Chelsea' 2-1 win over Liverpool in this month's FA Cup final. He has now scored in four FA Cup finals, a record.

Transfer rumors surround Drogba these days, and after eight seasons in London, Saturday could be his final match for Chelsea.

Ignoring the speculation for a moment, on Saturday we can expect to see the excellent hold-up play, brute strength and lethal scoring instincts we've come to expect from Drogba.

Key Player: Bayern

When Bastian Schweinsteiger is in form, it's tough for any team to beat Bayern.

Schweinsteiger, 27, is the box-to-box midfield general who makes Bayern tick with tireless running, dedication to both attacking and defending, slick passing and the occasional goal.

The German international (90 caps, 23 goals) has struggled with injuries this season, and his head-to-head matchup with the older Frank Lampard (who turns 34 in June) could decide which team controls the midfield—and thus which team controls the match itself.

Suspensions

Both teams have been hit hard by suspensions.

Six players will miss the game through yellow-card accumulation after receiving bookings in the semifinals. The six are Bayern's Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Luiz Gustavo, and Chelsea's Ramires, Raul Meireles and Branislav Ivanovic.

Chelsea captain John Terry (pictured, left) is also suspended for the red card he received against Barcelona in the semifinal second leg.

Injury News

Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda and defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill (both pictured) are fighting for fitness.

Malouda appears to be losing his fight, but Luiz and Cahill are reportedly making progress.

From ESPN Soccernet:

"

Defenders Cahill and Luiz have not played since April after picking up hamstring injuries - Cahill in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and Luiz in the FA Cup win over Tottenham - but both players are set to return to training on Tuesday.

Luiz claimed on Monday that he was confident of being fit, but Di Matteo admitted Malouda, who was substituted as a precaution in Sunday's win over Blackburn, would be "touch and go."

He said: "Gary and David are going to try and train with us [on Tuesday]. Florent Malouda we still have to assess and it will be touch and go for him to be available for Saturday."

"

The Ref

Meet the Champions League final referee. His name is Pedro Proenca, he's 41 and he's Portuguese.

From Goal.com:

"

Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca will take charge of Saturday's Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, Uefa have confirmed.

Assisting him will be fellow countrymen Bertino Miranda and Richardo Santos, with Spain's Carlos Velasco Carballo as fourth official.

The 41-year-old, refereed the second leg of the last-16 clash between Inter Milan and Marseille in this season's competition and Manchester United's semi-final second leg victory against Schalke last term.

"

What They're Saying: Bayern

Bayern's most recent match was a disaster. The Bavarians lost to Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) final in Berlin.

German forward Mario Gomez is urging his teammates to move on from the match and focus on Saturday's final.

"

"The target we’re aiming at now is much too big for us to be wasting time thinking about the past. I think it's nowhere in anyone's head any more," Gomez said.

"Maybe the good thing is that we've made all the mistakes we’re going to make and there won't be any on Saturday.

"We're looking forward to it more and more. You start thinking much more frequently than normal about possible situations in the match, about things which might happen.

"Every player knows it's something very special. Everyone at the club is looking forward to this match. There’s a special atmosphere."

"

Meanwhile, Dutch international midfielder Arjen Robben (pictured) is calling Saturday's match a "unique chance."

"

"You never know whether you will ever make it to the final of the Champions League again. We have to make it happen now," Robben stated to De Telegraaf.

"I think that the lost 2010 Champions League final will only have a positive impact."

"

What They're Saying: Chelsea

Like Bayern, Chelsea will be trying to put past failure behind them before Saturday. The Blues lost the 2008 Champions League final to Manchester United on penalties.

Ivorian forward Didier Drogba said the Blues should move on from that disappointment.

"

"It's not good to speak about the past because we have a great moment here. I'm going to try to make sure that for my teammates, this is a great one.

"I've played a lot [of big games] with Chelsea, but this one is going to be special because it's only the second time we have reached the Champions League final.

"We are going to do everything to go there and be ready to play against this German team."

"

Meanwhile, Brazilian defender David Luiz (pictured) says playing in the Champions League final is every player's dream.

"

"This is the most important match in the world for the big clubs and I am very happy to be able to play this final," Luiz told ESPN.

"The best players in the world want to play this match and I am no exception. I want to play and I am counting the days and the minutes left.

"This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid in Brazil, and now I have the opportunity to play this match."

"

Links

Bleacher Report has you covered before Saturday's match. Here are some excellent reads from B/R's world football writers.

Timothy Rapp tells us why casual fans should support Bayern Munich.

Andrew Kulha writes that Roberto Di Matteo will make the difference for Chelsea.

David Daniels proposes five key players.

And finally, Ian Hanford argues that Frank Lampard (pictured) will be the key to a Chelsea win.

Follow @MikeCummings37