Luke Reddy
BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden

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Football brings strangers together, we love that right?

Here we have Christoper and Adrian (second and third from the left), over for Christopher’s 21st to watch Anthony Joshua box in New York. They support Chelsea and Arsenal, so are in Liverpool’s camp today.

They have sat in this bar alongside Liverpool fans from New Jersey’- Adrian, Roger, Phil and Matt for FIVE HOURS to guarantee a seat. They’ve bonded, they buy drinks and call one another “brothers.”

It’s absolutely heaving in this New York venue now, Andy Robertson’s appearance on screen draws huge cheers and one or two are beginning to wear that nervous cloak a final brings. It’s nearly time to live on the edge.

Another update on this latest unlikely Champions League comeback...

Hugo Lloris can join eight French players to have won the World Cup and the Champions League: Bixente Lizarazu, Christian Karembeu, Didier Deschamps, Fabien Barthez, Marcel Desailly, Raphaël Varane, Thierry Henry and Zinédine Zidane.

Some of your messages have been just brilliant. Watching the game in Kazakhstan mid trip is one to tell the grandkids!

Justin Bate: On my way back from Honeymoon in Singapore, flight time directly over the game! Have paid for very expensive wifi to watch while flying at 2am in the morning!

Alan Ferguson: Just taking a moment to myself away from everyone to listen to You’ll Never Walk Alone. Feeling emotional and we’re still 40 mins from kick off.

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Speaking of the Europa League final, we got lots of complaints about the lack of English players on the pitch.

Well, Spurs have five English players starting tonight - only Manchester United have ever started more in a Champions League final (six in 2008).

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The build-up to this game so far tonight has been everything Wednesday night in Baku wasn't.

Full house, passion, volume, tension, excitement, sense of occasion.

Still some English fans struggling to make it of course...

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer in Madrid

Never quite sure what Jurgen Klopp gleans from his pre-match staring at the opposition but he certainly likes a long look at their warm-up and it is no different with Spurs tonight.

Image source, EPA

Harry Kane has scored five goals in nine matches against Liverpool, while also providing two assists. Kane’s last goal versus Liverpool came back in February 2018.

Andy Gates: Houston, Texas game on at 2:00pm, 50 years a fan - never a day like this. My wife, kids will all be kitted up appropriately in the Big Ben Tavern - COYS!!

Oakelfish: At the Hilton in Liverpool to watch the game come on you reds.

Kenny Kim: Watching from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on a couch with pillows to hide behind. Not bringing my bad luck to Madrid having been to Athens and Kiev. For the greater good you see.

Image source, BrettyFerg

The volume inside the Wanda hits new peaks as the two sides come out to warm up. Slightly more Liverpool fans inside I would guess, but not a noticeable gulf.

Harry Kane looks focused. How fit is he? We are about to find out.

Guillem Balague
Spanish football journalist on BBC Radio 5 live

We all know Liverpool have a strong side. At Anfield Spurs managed to stop them, but it will take something special for Tottenham to win this.

Liverpool have the belief that nothing is impossible.

What a final we have ahead.

Duncan Alexander
Opta

Image source, Getty Images

This will be the first Champions League final to get the luxury VAR (video assistant referee) experience, with the added bonus that it features the teams whose Premier League meetings have produced more spot-kicks (22) than any other fixture.

Will the remote referees serve up some 12-yard drama? If they do, then Spurs and Liverpool - in Harry Kane and James Milner - have some of the coolest men in the business, with only six failures between them from 42 attempts in the Premier League and Champions League combined.

Hugo Lloris leads out his Spurs players for a warm up. Considering he had a wobbly spell of form this season - in my opinion - he could end up with a World Cup and a Champions League in his back pocket inside a year.

Not too bad!

Trent Alexander-Arnold (20y 237d) is the first ever player aged under-21 to start in consecutive Champions League finals.

Mark Lawrenson
Ex-Liverpool defender

Everyone is saying Liverpool are favourites to win, but they can only be slight favourites.

I do think if Klopp's side are on it then they have got too much for Spurs, because the front three carry such a scoring threat and the width from their full-backs means you would think they will create enough chances to win.

I also believe Liverpool will be in a better place mentally for their experience in last year's final. They will know what it feels like when they walk away after losing a huge game like that and it will be something else driving them on to make sure there is a different outcome this time.

So, by hook or by crook, I think Liverpool will win - although it will be extremely close.

Mo Salah had an injury nightmare last season and he couldn't show what he's all about on the biggest of stages.

Some players never get another chance. He's only had to wait 12 months...

Sean Dyche
Burnley manager on BBC Radio 5 live

Mauricio Pochettino has a lot of faith in Harry Winks. I think he'll be used to hold Tottenham's shape tonight.

But it'll be interesting to see how the teams morph against each other - both in and out of possession. It's going to be very interesting to see who gets the upper hand in the various tactical scenarios.