The 2005 final was the sixth time Liverpool had reached the final and it was their first appearance since 1985 European Cup Final, when they lost 1–0 to Juventus and were subsequently banned from European competition for an indefinite period due to the Heysel Stadium Disaster. They had previously won the European Cup on four occasions in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984. The match was Milan's tenth appearance in the final. They had won on six occasions (1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003), and lost three times (1958, 1993, 1995). In total the teams had participated in 14 finals between them.[13] Prior to the game, Milan were assured of entering the Champions League next season after finishing second in Serie A, albeit with a match left.[14] Liverpool meanwhile had failed to finish in the top four in the Premier League, and had to win the final to enter the competition the following season. Even if they did win the match, they were not assured of a place after UEFA neither confirmed or denied if they would allow Liverpool to defend the championship the next season.[15] The Football Association supported Liverpool stating: "We have already submitted a written request to have an additional place, should they win the Champions League".[16] Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti had his own view on the situation: "I think a team that wins should have the right to defend it but we may just do the English federation a favour and solve this".[17]
A total of 69,500 tickets were available for the final and each team was allocated 20,000 tickets. UEFA auctioned 7,500 tickets for the final through its website, whilst another 14,500 were distributed to its "football family". The Turkish Football Federation also had 7,500 tickets available for fans from their country, but there were concerns these tickets would end up being sold on the black market. Hotel rooms in the city were scarce with the 100,000 available quickly booked by travel agents and fans.[18] Some 30,000 Liverpool fans made the trip to Istanbul but only 20,000 were expected to have tickets; those without tickets hoped to watch the match in the many bars in Istanbul. The BBC reported early arrivals were lively but there was no violence and the mood between the two fans was friendly.[19]
Milan were regarded as favourites and their team included many players who had experienced success in the competition. The most notable was captain Paolo Maldini, who had won the competition four times previously, all with Milan, and Clarence Seedorf who had won the competition three times with three different clubs. Liverpool had been considered underdogs throughout the competition but had beaten more favoured opposition including Juventus and Chelsea to reach the final. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez acknowledged this: "Maybe Milan are favourites, but we have confidence, and we can win".[20] Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger felt Liverpool would win the match: "I fancy Liverpool as Milan look jaded physically and certainly mentally, by losing the title, I think they have never had a better chance than now to beat Milan". Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was not so optimistic stating that this Liverpool side were not as good as the one that won the UEFA Cup in 2001: "No disrespect to the squad we have got now but it is obvious we are not as strong as we were when we won the UEFA Cup in 2001. Back then we had a settled team and that season when we went into games against Barcelona and Roma, we always felt we were as good as them".[21]
Milan were expected to field a 4–4–2 formation, and there was much speculation about who would partner Andriy Shevchenko in attack. Filippo Inzaghi and Jon Dahl Tomasson were touted but it was expected that on-loan striker Hernán Crespo would be chosen. This was echoed by Milan manager Ancelotti: "I will not say if he will play from the start, but he will definitely play". Liverpool were expected to line up in similar 4–4–2 formation. Dietmar Hamann was expected to start ahead of Igor Bišćan, while there was doubt over whether Djibril Cissé or Milan Baroš would start as the main striker. Benítez gave no clues as to who would play when questioned on the matter: "Both are good enough, maybe both can play, why not???