1 The European soccer season reaches its climactic finale today when Manchester United and Chelsea square off in the first all-English European Champions League final.
More than 40,000 British fans have made the trek to Russia to see the game (11:30 a.m., ESPN2) at the venerable Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where capacity has been reduced to a manageable 69,500.
The worldwide television audience is expected to reach into the hundreds of millions, with a record 20.6 million predicted in England alone.
Considering the array of international talent available to both coaches, the choice of who to start is a major problem. Both teams are at full strength.
"I know my team, I think, but I haven't enjoyed picking it," Manchester United Coach Alex Ferguson said. "Some very good players will miss out, and it's not easy to tell them that."
Said Chelsea Coach Avram Grant: "I know 80% of my team. But I like to keep watching them in training to see how they are doing."
Today's game will be the 151st time the teams have played each other. English Premier League champion Manchester United has won 65 of the games, Chelsea, this season's EPL runner-up, has won 41, and 44 have ended in a tie.
2 If the winner can be predicted based upon which team had the more difficult route to the 53rd final, today's game is a tough call.
Manchester United, winner of the European Cup in 1968 and 1999, had to overcome Sporting Lisbon, AS Roma and Dynamo Kiev in the first round, then got past Olympique Lyon in the round of 16, AS Roma (again) in the quarterfinals and Barcelona in the semifinals.
Chelsea, which will be playing in its first Champions League final, made its way past Rosenborg, Valencia and Schalke 04 in the initial round, then overcame Olympiakos in the round of 16, Fenerbahce in the quarterfinals and five-time champion Liverpool in the semifinals.
3 Steve Nicol, who won the European Cup with Liverpool in 1984 and now coaches the New England Revolution, said he believes Manchester United will prevail.
"I think Man United's the better team all round," Nicol told The Times. "They play the game the way it should be played. They try to attack teams and they pass the ball. They fight. They can defend. They've got quality. They've got everything.
"You name it, they can do it."
4 Moscow might be the site for today's final, but the grass and the referee are from Slovakia.
