Real Madrid vs Barcelona preview; Super Cup final, El Clasico, team news | Football News

WHO: Real Madrid vs Barcelona
What: The final of the Spanish Super Cup
Where: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
When: Sunday at 22:00 (19:00 GMT).
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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says his players can avenge their thrashing by Barcelona earlier this season by winning the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday, but only if they don’t make the same mistakes.

Hansi Flick “Barcelona” defeated Los Blancos with a score of 4:0 In LaLiga at the Santiago Bernabeu in October, a drop before the winter break helped Real Madrid overtake them at the top of the table.

“We have to think clearly about this game, they beat us, we appreciated exactly what happened,” Ancelotti told a press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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

“When it’s a Clásico final, it’s even tighter, we’ve played a lot against Barcelona and it’s always special to play a final against them.”

Can Madrid strike a balance for Mbappe, Bellingham et al?

Madrid, who He won against “Mallorca” with a score of 3:0 In Thursday’s semi-final, 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, the four players give Madrid a significant advantage going forward, but could hurt the team if they don’t focus defensively.

“(In recent Clasicos) individual quality has prevailed over team balance,” Ancelotti said. “The important aspect (in the final) will be balance and teamwork – defense.

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

Ancelotti has previously said his worst memory of Madrid’s successful 2024, which saw them win La Liga and the Champions League, was losing to Barcelona.

“We are approaching another cup, we think positively, but we know that anything can happen in football, above all when the opponent is strong and competes as well as Barcelona,” added Ancelotti, whose team won the European Super Cup. Cup and Intercontinental Cup already this season.

“Our team has developed, no one can argue with that. Defeat would not be good, but the team is not going back, it will continue to move forward.”

Will Barcelona replace Gavi with Olmo on a temporary reprieve?

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

The Spain international’s formalization on Wednesday came too late for him to attend The Catalan club won 2:0 in the semi-finals Against “Athletic Bilbao”.

“Olmo will play and we have to minimize his quality,” said Ancelotti, who declined to comment on the row that has weighed on Spanish football.

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

“Gavi did great against Athletic, he’s got confidence… I think he’ll play, but I’m not 100 per cent sure who will,” Flick said.

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

“If we win, we’ll have more confidence for the rest of the season,” Flick said. “Winning the game would be a really big thing for anybody.”

What is the Supercopa de Espana?

The Supercopa combines the winners and runners-up of both Spain’s domestic league, La Liga, and Spain’s domestic cup competition, the Copa del Rey.

First played in 1982 between league and cup winners only, it was expanded to four teams in 2020.

“Real Madrid” is the current league champion, “Barcelona” is second, and “Athletic Bilbao” is the owner of the cup after defeating “Mallorca” in the final of last season.

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

This year’s Super Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, with all three games being played at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.

Two semi-final rounds have already been held in the venue that hosts the Saudi Arabian national team and will be part of the 2034 World Cup.

Who are the Super Bowl owners?

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

Last year’s edition was also staged in Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh became the host on this occasion.

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

“Real” defeated Madrid’s rival “Atletico”, and “Barca” defeated “Osasuna” in the semi-finals.

Real Madrid team news

Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham are all set to reach the final after winning their semi-finals on Thursday.

Luca Modric remains a major doubt for Los Blancos after withdrawing from their last-four win with Mallorca.

Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are out.

Real Madrid predicted the XI: Politeness; Vasquez, Asensio, Rudiger; Mandy; Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrigo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

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

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 11, 2025

Barcelona team news

Dani Olmo and Pau Victor could play for Barca after the pair were granted provisional registrations following the club’s protracted dispute with Spain’s top sports council.

Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen were all absent from the “Barcelona” team.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was handed the gloves in the semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao, but Inaki Pena will take the role in the final.

Predicted Barcelona XI: punishment; Kounde, Jubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Rafinha; Lewandowski

Form guide – Real Madrid:

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

Form guide – Barcelona:

Barcelona are slowly recovering from their worst streak of the season with back-to-back wins for the first time in 11 games. Before that, the Catalan club had won only three out of nine games, and four defeats were at this stage. All this after Hansi Flick won 14 of his first 16 games in charge this season. Last five games: WLLWW

Head to head:

“Real” won 105 of the 258 meetings held between the parties, and “Barca” won 101.

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