Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez remains the last manager to have led Liverpool to a European title, and as Reds manager Jurgen Klopp attempt to repeat the feat 14 years down the line, Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to stop them in Madrid later tonight.
The German boss has a major selection headache on his hands, with four midfielders fully fit and in top form ahead of the clash with Spurs.
Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum are all available for selection, but one has to start from the bench in what is expected to be a three-man midfield tonight, and Benitez hopes he can have similar selection dilemmas at Newcastle.
“I would like to have this problem every week! It’s fantastic to have such good players and then you have to pick just three and leave one out,” the Magpies manager told ECHO.
“In this case, Jurgen knows better than anyone how they have been training, how they feel, how they are mentally for the game.
“Maybe someone is a little bit worried about the final and feels the responsibility too much. That is a question for Jurgen.”
Given the average quality of their squad and its lack of depth, Newcastle have had to fight for top-flight survival in the last two campaigns since they returned from the Championship.
However, with a £350 million takeover in the pipeline, Benitez will no doubt start receiving plenty of support in the transfer markets if the deal goes through, having been frustrated by owner Mike Ashley’s constant refusal to back him up as desired.
He would love to be spoilt for options when deciding his starting XI every other match day going forward, and he will hope the prospective new owners can help make that possible.
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