Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to contest a Clasico final of the Supercopa de Espana in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Having paid so much to host the tournament in Saudi Arabia, organisers will be pleased to see Spain’s two biggest clubs contest the showpiece event. Madrid dramatically beat city rivals Atletico Madrid 5-3 in their semi-final while Barca secured a more simple route to the final as goals from Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal downed Osasuna 2-0.
With Los Blancos currently seven points ahead of La Blaugrana in La Liga, Xavi’s side need a win for the sake of momentum and belief with the second half of the season well underway.
Here’s all you need to know about Real Madrid vs Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona H2H Record (Last Five Games)
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Madrid have struggled with defensive injuries for much of the season and that will be the case until the final weeks of the campaign. Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba are out for the entire campaign, while Eder Militao is not expected back until April. They are also without the useful Lucas Vazquez until February.
The starting lineup is therefore expected to be very similar if not exactly the same as the one that beat Atletico in the semi-final, though Eduardo Camavinga could come in for Luka Modric.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-3-1-2): Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius.
Barca suffered a fitness blow in the semi-final when Brazilian forward Raphinha injured his hamstring. The Brazilian will be unavailable for the final while there are a number of other doubts for Xavi to monitor, with Pedri, Marcos Alonso, Inigo Martinez and Joao Cancelo all facing races to be fit to start.
Pedri came off the bench against Osasuna and could be in line to start the final, but it will likely be the bench for Martinez and Cancelo. Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Gavi are out with long-term issues.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-3-3): Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, Gundogan, De Jong; Yamal, Lewandowski, Felix.
Madrid came out on top in the first Clasico of the season in La Liga, though Barca wasted a number of great chances and really should have won the game.
Barca might have the added firepower of young Brazilian Vitor Roque to call on from the bench if Lewandowski continues to struggle like he has in recent months, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side have only lost one game all season and should be able to exploit their great rivals’ weaknesses in Saudi Arabia to lift the Supercopa de Espana for the 13th time.
Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
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