PSG vs Arsenal Champions League Final preview, team news and prediction

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A blockbuster showdown in Budapest awaits. At 5pm on Saturday, Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain meet Arsenal in the 2025-26 final at the Puskas Arena. Luis Enrique’s side are chasing history as the first French club to win back-to-back European Cups, while the Gunners are aiming to lift the trophy for the first time - 20 years on from their last, painful tilt at European glory.

The bookies will be looking ahead to a busy night in Budapest but expect a close-knit affair with PSG the slight favourites at 13/10 with bet365 to retain the title - the first French club to ever achieve it - while Arsenal is 2/1 with Paddy Power and a draw is 12/5 with Sky Bet . You can also find more betting offers at the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers .

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Enrique has ditched the obsession with galactico names, like Kylian Mbappe, in favour of a tighter unit, and he could become just the fifth manager to win three European Cups, joining Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Bob Paisley and Zinedine Zidane. PSG’s league phase was steady rather than spectacular — 14 points from 24 — but they have looked every inch champions since the knockout rounds began.

Monaco, Chelsea, Liverpool and most recently Bayern Munich have all fallen to the Parisians, who lead this season’s scoring charts with 44 goals — one shy of Barcelona’s all-time record from 1999-00. PSG have failed to score only once in the competition, a drab goalless draw with Athletic Bilbao in December, and they hit two or more in seven of eight knockout ties before a 1-1 draw with Bayern in the second leg of their semi-final.

They arrive in Hungary on the back of a 2-1 Ligue 1 loss to Paris FC, but the title was already wrapped up — and Bradley Barcola’s goal in that defeat extended PSG’s scoring run to 27 games. Saturday’s final is the first between two domestic champions since 2019-20, when PSG were beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich behind closed doors — a detail Arsenal fans with a superstitious streak may cling to.

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For Arsenal, the opponent adds an extra layer of narrative. They go in search of European glory two decades after heartbreak in the French capital, when Jens Lehmann’s red card and late Barcelona goals — including Juliano Belletti’s winner — left Arsene Wenger’s side devastated in 2006.

Wenger never lifted the Champions League, but his former player Mikel Arteta is now 90 minutes from an iconic European Cup and English title double - a feat only achieved in the modern era by Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.

Critics may argue Arsenal have enjoyed a friendlier route to Budapest, but the Premier League champions earned a favourable draw with a flawless league-phase campaign, then navigated past Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid to book their place in the showpiece.

Unbeaten in Europe all season, Arsenal have already set a new mark by going 14 games without defeat in a single Champions League campaign, while also keeping a competition-leading nine clean sheets - just one short of their 2005-06 record, matched only by 2015-16 Real Madrid.

Their 2-1 win at Crystal Palace last weekend, which came ahead of the long-awaited trophy lift, made it five straight victories in all competitions - though six of their last seven wins have been by a single goal, the exception a 3-0 win over a Fulham side hit by illness.

Arteta also oversaw a two-goal victory over PSG in last season’s league phase, even if Enrique’s men later ended Arsenal’s run in the semi-finals. One year on, getting their hands on the trophy would be the most satisfying form of revenge.

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Luis Enrique rested several PSG regulars on the final day of the Ligue 1 season, but starting Ousmane Dembele proved costly as the Ballon d’Or winner went off after 27 minutes with a calf issue. PSG insist it was precautionary and expect him to start up front with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Nuno Mendes is also tipped to be fit despite a thigh concern, but Achraf Hakimi is unlikely after a moderate hamstring injury, meaning Warren Zaire-Emery may deputise at right-back. In goal, Matvey Safonov remains Enrique’s first choice.

Arsenal have their own right-back worry: Jurrien Timber has missed eight weeks with a groin problem and is not certain to start, with Ben White definitely out. If Timber is not risked, Cristhian Mosquera could be asked to fill in. Noni Madueke should be fit, but Bukayo Saka is expected to start.

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