Real Madrid vs Barcelona preview; Supercopa final, El Clasico, team news

Who: Real Madrid vs Barcelona

What: Spanish Super Cup final
Where: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
When: 10:00pm (19:00 GMT) on Sunday
Follow Al Jazeera’s live text and photo build-up and commentary stream.

Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, said his players could win the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday to retaliate for their earlier this year thrashing by Barcelona, but only if they made the same mistakes.

Los Blancos fell to Barcelona 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in LaLiga in October despite a run-in before the winter break that enabled Real Madrid to regain control of the table.

“We have to think about that game obviously, they beat us, we had a clear evaluation of what happened”, Ancelotti told a news conference Saturday before the clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

We must try to repeat the positive things we did and avoid the errors we made in the second half because the game went well before we had problems in the second half.

We’ve played a lot against Barcelona, and playing in a final against them is always something special, and The Clasico is even more under pressure when it’s a final.

Can Madrid find a balance for Mbappe, Bellingham and co?

After signing French legend Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain last year, Madrid, who defeated Mallorca 3-3 in their semifinal on Thursday, are still looking for a balance between attack and defense.

The four players give Madrid a strong edge going forward, but if they aren’t focused defensively, they can hurt the team.

“]In recent Clasicos] individual quality has prevailed over team balance, “continued Ancelotti”. An important aspect]in the final] will be balance and collective work – defending.

“If you defend well, there’s more chance of winning”.

Ancelotti previously claimed that Barcelona’s defeat from a successful 2024, in which Madrid won LaLiga and the Champions League, was his worst memory.

“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 replace Gavi with Olmo, who has been temporarily suspended?

Dani Olmo, a midfielder for Barcelona, will be able to play after the Catalans controversially granted him a temporary license under the National Sports Council (CSD) of Spain.

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.

Ancelotti, who has resisted offering his opinion on the case that has aggravated Spanish football, said, “Olmo will play and we have to minimize his quality.”

Olmo was ready to play, according to Flick, who took over as Barca’s coach at the end of last year after Gavi excelled in the attacking midfield match against Athletic Bilbao.

“Gavi had a great performance against Athletic, he’s got confidence … I think he’s is going to play, but I am not 100-percent sure of who will play”, said Flick.

The German coach’s first opportunity to win silver since joining Barcelona is the Super Cup.

“If we win, we will have more confidence for the rest of the season”, added Flick. “It would be a really big deal for everyone to win the game,” he said.

What is the Supercopa de Espana?

The Supercopa pits together the winners and runners-up of both the Spanish domestic league, LaLiga, and Spain’s domestic cup competition, Copa del Rey.

Although it started out as a single league and cup winner, it expanded to four teams in 2020, starting with the first two teams that were formed in 1982.

Real Madrid are the current league champions, with Barcelona finishing second, while Athletic Bilbao are the cup holders, having defeated Mallorca in last season’s final.

The Spanish Supercopa final will take place where?

Saudi Arabia hosts the third Supercopa this year, and King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah will host each of the three games.

The venue, which plays host to the Saudi national team and will be part of the 2034 World Cup, has already hosted the two semifinals.

Who are the Supercopa holders?

Real Madrid won the 2024 Supercopa, defeating Barcelona 4-1 in the final.

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

Rodrygo sealed things in the second period with a hat-trick from Vinicius Junior for Los Blancos after Robert Lewandowski had only scored the opener for Barca.

Real beat Madrid rivals Atletico in their semifinal, while Barca overcame Osasuna.

Real Madrid team news

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

After resigning on the day of their last-four victory over Mallorca, Luca Modric continues to be the main doubter for Los Blancos.

Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal both remain sidelined.

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

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

Barcelona team news

After the club’s lengthy dispute with Spain’s supreme sports council, temporary registrations were granted to the pair, and Dani Olmo and Pau Victor are both available to play for Barca.

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

Wojciech Szczesny, an old Arsenal keeper, was given the gloves for the semifinal win over Athletic Bilbao, but Inaki Pena is expected to take over the starting hat for the final.

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

Form guide – Real Madrid:

Real are currently in excellent form, recording five straight victories and seven victories in eight games without losing. Los Blancos had already lost four of their previous seven games, including Barca’s humiliating at home. Last five games: W W W W W

Form guide – Barcelona:

Barcelona’s first successive victories in 11 games seem to be coming off of their worst run of the season. The Catalan club had only won three of nine games prior to that, and that run saw four defeats. Following Hansi Flick’s 14 of his first 16 games in charge this year, this all happened. Last five games: W L L W W

Head-to-head:

Real have won 105 of the 258 meetings between the sides, with Barca emerging victorious on 101 occasions.

Source: Aljazeera