This time last year I blogged from the Champions League final in Athens, mainly about the oddly circuitous routes taken by Liverpool fans just to get there.

My plan was to do the same from Moscow, but so far fans are pretty thin on the ground. With hotel prices starting at about 800 euros a night, it seems the vast majority of fans are going to come in on the day and fly back pretty much as soon as the game is finished.

At Red Square this morning there was a longish queue to get up close and personal with the trophy itself (or perhaps a replica, who knows…) but so far there’s none of the loud and beery atmosphere of Istanbul or Athens. Even the GUM department store on Red Square was empty, with the Manchester United shirts on sale at 3,150 roubles a pop not finding any buyers.

One story doing the rounds here is that the stadium might not even be full for the final. As a Russian friend put it: “Why would we want to go out to watch a match between two English teams at midnight?”

I did get one offer of a ticket from a Russian guy on the street. He quoted me a 1,000 euros, but his heart wasn’t really in it.

I’m sure it’ll all get livelier tonight and I’ll update here with stories from fans as soon as I can find some. In the mean time, send us your thoughts on the final…

Kevin Fylan, Moscow 

Vlog on the pitch duo Jon Bramley and Darcy Lambton think Manchester United will beat Chelsea on Wednesday but host Owen Wyatt is not so sure. (Although judging by the haircut he has already lost a bet this week.)

Who is your money on for the big clash in Moscow? Will Didier Drogba ignore the mind games and win the game just like the semi-final against Liverpool?

The boys touch on various other topics in a bumper issue this week. They review the FA Cup final before discussing Real Zaragoza’s relegation and the English playoffs.

Let us know your thoughts. Leave comments below or make your own video, load it up to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it, we’ll put it up here.

There have been a lot of stories lately about Avram Grant, and how he needs to prove his worth as a coach by seeing Chelsea to victory in the Champions League final on Wednesday (See Richard Williams in the Guardian for a flavour).

But Grant is far from the only one who goes into this final with something to prove or who is desperate to make amends for past disappointments.

Michael Ballack (2002 Bayer Leverkusen), Patrice Evra (2004 Monaco) and Ashley Cole (2006 Arsenal) have only known what it’s like to lose a Champions League final, while the last time Andriy Shevchenko appeared in the final was on that night in Istanbul three years ago.

Then there’s Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United manager has one Champions League title under his belt but the Scot may still feel under a little pressure to get things right on Wednesday.

Everyone remembers the frantic last couple of minutes when United beat Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999 but I bet Ferguson still recalls how his tactics for the final didn’t do the team any favours.

With Scholes and Keane unavailable, Ferguson chose Beckham to play in central midfield and pushed Giggs out on the right, where he endured a disappointing night.
   
It turned out all right in the end, just like it did for Rafa Benitez in 2005, but only after a desperate last throw of the dice. It was a wonderfully happy ending, but I bet Ferguson would love to win the tactical battle this time round as well.

Kevin Fylan, Moscow

PHOTO: Alex Ferguson lifts the trophy with his players after Manchester Utd win the 1999 Champions League final, May 26, 1999. REUTERS

Sir Alex Ferguson says Manchester United will go bouncing into the Champions League final after they secured the Premier League title with a 2-0 win over Wigan on Sunday.

Ferguson, understandably feeling pretty pleased, also more or less ruled out retiring even if United go on to celebrate a double with victory over Chelsea in Moscow later this month.

United played the best attacking football in England this season so it’s hard to argue that they didn’t deserve the title, and it was great to see Ryan Giggs, on a record-equalling day, come off the bench to put the finishing touches to the win.

But is Ferguson right in thinking this will give United a significant advantage going into the Champions League final? Winning titles is infectious, but then again, they may just find it tough to take their minds off Chelsea’s victory over them last month.

What do you reckon? Are United worthy champions? Will they go on and add the Champions League to Ferguson’s already fantastic honours board? Or can Chelsea come back from this?

PHOTO: Ryan Giggs raises the Premier League trophy on Sunday, May 11, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble.