Supercopa de Espana | Final

Jan 12, 2025 at 7pm UK

Real Madrid vs Barcelona

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Match preview

Mallorca made it tough for Real Madrid in the first half of Thursday's semi-final, but Jude Bellingham put Los Blancos ahead just past the hour, before two goals in stoppage time saw Carlo Ancelotti's side make it to the final.

Real Madrid have already won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup this season, so they are going in search of a third trophy on Sunday evening. There could be three more to add to the La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey trophies already on their shelf.

To be fair, Ancelotti's team weren't always at their best in the first half of the season, but there have been signs that things are starting to come together in recent weeks, which would be bad news for their rivals at home and in Europe.

Ancelotti's team will enter this match on the back of a five-game winning streak, including three wins this year: against Valencia and Deportivo Minera in the league and Copa del Rey, and a three-goal thrashing of Mallorca.

Real Madrid have the most Spanish Super Cup titles – they've won it 13 times, including last year when they beat Barcelona 4-1 in the final. If they win on Sunday, they'll have won 14 trophies in total, which would put them level with their rivals for the Clasico.

Los Blancos have also won four of the last five meetings between the two sides in all competitions, but Barcelona recorded an incredible 4-0 victory at the Bernabeu when the pair met in La Liga back in October.

Barcelona were on fire in their four-goal win over Real Madrid, with Robert Lewandowski (two), Raphinha and Lamine Yamal all finding the back of the net. Those three will be looking to cause trouble for Ancelotti's side on Sunday night.

At one point, it looked like Barcelona would be running away with the La Liga title this season, but they've stumbled a bit recently, winning just one of their last seven league games. This has seen them slip down to third, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Hansi Flick's side actually ended 2024 with back-to-back league losses to Leganes and Atletico Madrid, but they've bounced back with wins in both of their games this year, thrashing Barbastro 4-0 in the Copa del Rey and Athletic 2-0 in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals.

Gavi scored in the 17th minute of the first semi-final on Wednesday evening, and then Yamal netted early in the second half, which made things tough for Athletic. Now Barcelona will be going for their 15th trophy win.

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the 2023 final, and the fact that they've had an extra day's rest could be crucial, while Real Madrid have concerns over a number of important players ahead of this match.

It's a really busy time for both of these clubs right now. Not only are they in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey next week, but the league phase of the Champions League will be back on and then all wrapped up before the end of the month.

Recent Performance

Real Madrid form:DWWWWW

Barcelona form:DWLLWW

Team News

Luka Modric didn't play for Real Madrid on Thursday because he was ill, but the experienced midfielder has recovered and will be in the squad for the game against Barcelona.

Aurelien Tchouameni (head), Federico Valverde (overload) and Bellingham (overload) have all been assessed after picking up issues in the semi-final, and the trio will also be available for selection this weekend.

Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal won't be playing for a while, and David Alaba isn't ready to play yet even though he's in the squad. He's going to be back from his knee injury in the last few days of the month.

As for Barcelona, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Bernal and Andreas Christensen will miss out again, but Dani Olmo and Pau Victor are both available after being given temporary registrations.

Wojciech Szczesny has started consecutive matches for the Catalan giants and is likely to be in goal on Sunday evening, with Inaki Pena on the bench.

Ronald Araujo is currently with the squad in Saudi Arabia, but the Uruguay international is being heavily linked with a departure, with Juventus thought to be pushing to sign him, so it would be a surprise to see him involved.

Yamal is back after his ankle problem and is set for another start in the final third, with both managers getting ready to name their strongest XIs for the Spanish Super Cup final.

Possible starting lineup

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski