Real Madrid vs Barcelona Preview; Super Cup Final, El Clasico, Team News | Football news

WHO: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
What: Final of the Spanish Super Cup
Where: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
When: 22:00 (19:00 GMT) on Sunday
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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his players can avenge their defeat to Barcelona earlier this season by winning the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday, but only if they avoid making the same mistakes.

Hansi Flicka Barcelona defeated Los Blancos 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in October in La Liga, although a slump before the winter break helped Real Madrid overtake them at the top of the table.

“Obviously we have to think about that game, they beat us, we had a clear assessment of what happened,” Ancelotti told a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“We started the game well, then we had problems in the second half, so we have to try to repeat the good things we did and avoid the mistakes we made.

“The Clasico is under even more pressure when it’s the final, we played a lot against Barcelona and playing the final against them is always something special.”

Can Madrid find a balance for Mbappe, Bellingham and the rest?

Madrid, which beat Mallorca 3-0 in their semi-final on Thursday, they are still looking for a balance between attack and defense in their game following the arrival of French superstar Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain last year.

Along with Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes, these four players give Madrid a significant advantage going forward, but they can hurt the team if they are not focused on defense.

“[In recent Clasicos] individual quality prevailed over team balance,” continued Ancelotti. “An important aspect [in the final] there will be balance and joint work – defense.

“If you defend well, you have a better chance of winning.”

Ancelotti previously said his worst memory from a successful 2024, in which Madrid won LaLiga and the Champions League, was the beating by Barcelona.

“We’re close to another trophy, we’re thinking positively, but we know that in football anything can happen, above all when the opponent is strong and competes well like Barcelona,” added Ancelotti, whose side have won both the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup already this season.

“Our team has improved, nobody can argue with that. A defeat wouldn’t be good, but the team is not going backwards, it will keep moving forwards.”

Will Barcelona bring the temporarily reprieved Olmo in for Gavi?

Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo will be able to play after the Catalans were controversially granted a temporary licence for him by Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD).

The Spanish international’s clearance came too late on Wednesday for him to play a part in the Catalan club’s 2-0 semifinal win against Athletic Bilbao.

“Olmo will play and we have to minimise his quality,” said Ancelotti, who has resisted giving his opinion about the case which has aggravated Spanish football.

Flick, who replaced Barca legend Xavi as coach at the end of last season, said Olmo was ready to play but suggested he might not start after Gavi shone in the semi-final against Athletic Bilbao in an attacking midfielder role.

“Gavi had a great game against Athletic, he has confidence… I think he will play, but I’m not 100 percent sure who will play,” Flick said.

The Super Cup offers the German coach his first chance at silverware since arriving in Barcelona.

“If we win, we will have more confidence for the rest of the season,” added Flick. “Winning the game would be something really big for everybody.”

What is the Supercopa de Espana?

The Super Cup pits the winners and runners-up of Spain’s domestic league, LaLiga, against Spain’s domestic cup, the Copa del Rey.

Although it was played for the first time in 1982, only between the league and cup winners, in 2020 it was expanded to four teams.

Real Madrid is the current league champion, while Barcelona is second, while Athletic Bilbao is the cup holder, after defeating Mallorca in last season’s final.

Where will the final of the Spanish Super Cup be played?

This year’s Supercopa is being held in Saudi Arabia, and all three matches will be played at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.

The venue, which hosts the Saudi national team and will be part of the 2034 World Cup, has already hosted two semi-finals.

Who are the holders of the Super Cup?

Real Madrid won the 2024 Super Cup by defeating Barcelona 4-1 in the final.

Last year’s edition was also held in Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh was the host city on that occasion.

Vinicius Junior scored a first-half hat-trick for Los Blancos, while Rodrygo sealed things in the second period after Robert Lewandowski scored Barca’s only goal.

In the semi-finals, Real defeated Madrid’s rival Atletico, while Barca defeated Osasuna.

Real Madrid team news

Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham are available for selection in the final despite collecting knocks in Thursday’s semi-final.

Luca Modric remains a major doubt for Los Blancos after he withdrew on the day of the last four win against Mallorca.

Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain on the sidelines.

Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger; Mandy; Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

Hansi Flick 🤝 Carlo Ancelotti#ElClásico pic.twitter.com/aVPsUtsIIC

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 11, 2025

News about Barcelona

Dani Olmo and Pau Victor are both available to play for Barca after being granted provisional registrations following the club’s long-running dispute with Spain’s supreme sports council.

Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen remain absent for Barcelona, ​​for which the biggest question is who will replace the latter in goal.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was given the gloves for the semi-final win against Athletic Bilbao, but Inaki Pena should take over the role in the final.

Predicted Barcelona XI: Foam; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Form Guide – Real Madrid:

Real have hit form at the right time with five straight wins and seven wins in an eight-game unbeaten run. Before that, Los Blancos had lost four of their previous seven games, including a defeat at home to Barca. Last five games: WWWWW

Form Guide – Barcelona:

Barcelona appear to be slowly recovering from their worst run of the season with back-to-back wins for the first time in 11 games. Before that, the Catalan club had won just three of nine, with four defeats in that run. All this happened after Hansi Flick won 14 of his first 16 games this season. Last five games: WLLWW

One on one:

Real won 105 out of 258 meetings between them, and Barca won on 101 occasions.

Real had won the last four meetings between them – including the Spanish Super Cup in January and last season’s Copa del Rey encounter – before a 4-0 defeat in October in La Liga.