Supercopa de Espana: Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Real Madrid won the first meeting between these two sides this season

Real Madrid will play traditional El Clasico opponents Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup championship in Saudi Arabia for the second consecutive year.

Los Blancos defeated Atletico Madrid, their next-door rivals, in extra time to secure their spot in Sunday’s main event. Meanwhile, the Catalan powerhouses easily defeated Osasuna in their semifinal match.

Now that Real Madrid have the opportunity to lift the cup for the 13th time in their entire history and for the second time in five seasons, they might catch record-holder Barcelona in the Super Cup.

Kick-off time: 15 January 2024 at 12:30 a.m. IST, 14 January 2024 at 7 p.m. GMT

Real Madrid form in all competitions: W-W-W-W-W

Barcelona form in all competitions: D-W-L-W-W-W

Venue: Al-Awwal Stadium

Players to watch

Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham

Although three games without a goal may not seem like much for a midfielder, Bellingham’s goalless run of three games is his worst since moving to the Bernabeu in the summer.

There’s a potential that the front-runner for the Ballon d’Or award the next year, who scored 17 goals this season, is regressing to the mean because he has been greatly above his predicted goals total.

Barcelona: Fermin Lopez

Fermin Lopez has been the difference maker for Barcelona this season the midfielder has shown his temperament and has become Xavi’s one of trusted players. His eye for goal has been delightful to watch and if he starts against Real then he will have a big impact to make and will hope to emulate his pre-season goal against them.

Match facts

• This year’s Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia will pit Real Madrid against Barcelona for the second consecutive year.
• With 14 titles, the Catalan giants hold their own mark.
• This is the third straight Spanish Super Cup final for Los Blancos.

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Head-to-head

Real Madrid: 109

Barcelona: 123

Draw: 64

Players and injury news for Real Madrid vs Barcelona

Due to varying degrees of anterior cruciate ligament injuries, Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, and David Alaba are still out of commission for Real Madrid.

Right-back Lucas Vazquez is out for an additional straight game after incurring a hamstring injury during Real Madrid’s previous Copa del Rey triumph over Aranadina.

After being taken off the pitch in the opening minute of extra time versus Atleti due to a knock, Federico Valverde is expected to be able to resume his position in the midfield.

Regarding Barcelona, Yamal is anticipated to take Raphinha’s spot on the right side following the Brazilian’s hamstring injury sustained during the victory over Osasuna.

Inigo Martinez and Gavi will not play because of injuries to their knees and muscles, respectively, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marcos Alonso are still recuperating from back operations.

Since suffering a knee injury against Las Palmas a month ago, Joao Cancelo has been out, and it seems doubtful that the full-back will be back in time for Sunday’s championship game. Pedri is in line for a starting spot despite returning from injury to serve as an alternate in the semi-final.

Predicted lineup

Real Madrid: Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Modric, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius

Barcelona: Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, De Jong, Gundogan; Yamal, Felix, Lewandowski

Prediction for Real Madrid vs Barcelona

We anticipate the two teams will engage in another competitive match in Sunday’s championship after fighting a close match in October.

Real Madrid have demonstrated recently that they can grind out victories, therefore even if the game is decided by slim margins, we believe they will do enough to defeat Barcelona in Riyadh.

Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona

Live telecast

India: FanCode

USA: CBS Sport

UK: Sky Sports

Nigeria – Startimes World Football

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