PSG v Arsenal prediction, lineups & tips: Champions League final 2026

Twenty years after their only previous appearance in a European Cup final, Arsenal arrive at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest with a Premier League title already secured and the chance to complete the most memorable double in the club's history. Standing in their way is a PSG side that won this competition last May and are now chasing something only Real Madrid have managed in the Champions League era: back-to-back titles.

The subplot between these two managers gives the occasion an extra layer. Luis Enrique and Mikel Arteta, both Spanish, both shaped by the same footballing culture, go head to head for the biggest prize in club football. At his Budapest press conference on Thursday, Enrique was generous about his counterpart. "I am not surprised by Arsenal," he said. "They deserved to win the Premier League, and if I'm not mistaken, this is already Arteta's seventh year at the club. You can clearly see the team he has built." Arteta, for his part, was equally respectful while making clear the stakes. "We are here because we have earned the right to be here," he told reporters. "Tomorrow on that field we are going to have to earn the right to win the trophy."

PSG's route to this final was anything but smooth. They finished 11th in the league phase, were forced into the play-offs, and had to beat two English sides, Chelsea and Liverpool, before a breathless 6-5 aggregate semi-final against Bayern Munich put them back in the showpiece. Arsenal, by contrast, are the only side to have gone through the entire Champions League campaign without losing, eight wins from eight in the league phase, then one-goal margins against Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid in the knockouts. The contrast in paths could hardly be sharper.

There is also last season's semi-final to address. PSG beat Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate then, with Ousmane Dembélé scoring inside the first minute of the first leg at the Emirates. Arteta has not forgotten. "We certainly use examples and things" from that night, he acknowledged at his pre-match briefing.

Enrique pushed back on the framing that these are two very different sides. "I wouldn't say we have two different visions, we have similar ideas but have taken different paths," he said in Budapest on Thursday. The numbers, though, tell their own story. PSG have averaged 2.8 goals per game in the Champions League this season, the most productive attack in the competition. Arsenal have conceded just 0.4 goals per game across their 14 Champions League appearances, the meanest defence remaining. Something, inevitably, has to give.

Luis Enrique is expected to name a near full-strength XI, with Dembélé's fitness clearance the key piece of news. Hakimi is unlikely to start given his lack of match sharpness, meaning Achraf's place at right-back could fall to an alternative option. Enrique has used a 4-3-3 in all 16 of PSG's Champions League fixtures this season.

Arteta's XI largely selects itself. With Timber confirmed fit, the back four picks itself. Arteta has alternated between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 during the campaign but has used the former in nine of 14 Champions League outings.

PSG: Safonov; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia

Arsenal: Raya; White replacement, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard

PSG v Arsenal kicks off at 17:00 BST on Saturday 30 May at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. In the UK, the match is live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and HBO Max, with coverage beginning at 15:00 BST. If level after 90 minutes, the game goes to two 15-minute periods of extra time; if still tied after that, the winner is decided by a penalty shoot-out.