No Mbappe or Muller in PSG-Bayern combined XI for Champions League final

 

After Sevilla's thrilling 3-2 win over Inter in the Europa League final on Friday, we are now just over 24 hours away from UEFA's showpiece event: The Champions League final.

 

Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich will contest the 2019/20 Champions League final, hosted in Lisbon, Portugal on Sunday evening.

 

Bayern have been utterly rampant en route to their first final since winning the European Cup in 2013, while PSG have had to work extremely hard for their first in this competition.

 

On the eve of Sunday's encounter, we wondered what a combined XI between the two finalists may look like based on performances in this season's Champions League alone.

 

Both teams can count on star players in almost every position so some big names unfortunately fail to make the cut. Most notably, Kylian Mbappe.

 

The 2018 World Cup winner has played a direct hand in 10 goals in nine appearances in Europe this season but there is no room in the side for the 21-year-old.

 

Instead, Bayern duo Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry and PSG winger Angel Di Maria make up the front three in our combined XI.

 

Lewandowski is the competition's top scorer with 15 goals, two off Cristiano Ronaldo's record in a single campaign, while Gnabry has played a direct hand in 11 goals in nine appearances, including a four-goal haul away to Tottenham in the group stage.

 

No Mbappe or Muller in PSG-Bayern combined XI for Champions League final

 

Di Maria, meanwhile, has been immense for PSG in their run to the final. The 32-year-old has nine goals and assists in eight appearances and garnered a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in their semi-final triumph over RB Leipzig. Moreover, Di Maria has created at least four more clear-cut chances than any other player in the competition (11).

 

Neymar, who has seven goals and assists in six games and ranks second the most dribbles per game (6.5), edges out Thomas Muller for a place behind the front three, with Thiago and Marquinhos holding down midfield further back.

 

The full-back positions are occupied by Bayern duo Joshua Kimmich and Alphonso Davies, with the latter on course to garner the highest ever WhoScored rating by a defender in a single Champions League campaign.

 

With Keylor Navas sidelined, Manuel Neuer has a clear path for the position in goal, though the Bayern shot-stopper is worth his place for rediscovering his best form this season after a tricky few years.

No Mbappe or Muller in PSG-Bayern combined XI for Champions League final