Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona: Match preview | OneFootball

Yet another El Clasico is upon us with the stakes much higher as Real Madrid locks horns against FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

Both sides enjoyed convincing victories in the semi finals, against Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao respectively.

Real Madrid, in particular, are an in-from side, sitting at top of the league table and the entire squad clicking at the right time.

Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy enjoyed having a good game after quite some time, but the final will pose a challenge for both the full backs as they will come up against arguably Barcelona’s best players this season – Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.

Aurelien Tchouaméni is expected to be fit after looking solid along side Antonio Rüdiger. Carlo Ancelotti has the luxury of bringing on an in-from Dani Ceballos and also the veteran Luka Modric from the bench if there are any tired legs in the midfield trio of Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde.

The Englishman and Uruguayan, in particular, suffered an overload in the Mallorca match but according to Ancelotti, he has a fully fit squad at his disposal.

Rodrygo was outstanding against Mallorca and the duo of Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe enjoyed a decent outing as well – despite not being involved in either of the goals.

Vinícius has been a thorn in Barcelona’s side whenever he steps on to the pitch and fans can expect a great battle between him and Jules Kounde, with the Frenchman getting the better of the Brazilian in the league fixture earlier this season.

Carlo Ancelotti has also discussed the offside issue in the 0-4 defeat, and Mbappe would be eager to have a way better outing.

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona have simmered down after going at full throttle at the beginning of the season. They were comfortably leading the La Liga table in October but now find themselves in 3rd place, 3 points and 5 points behind Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid respectively.

Robert Lewandowski’s form has taken a dip despite still being the club’s leading goal scorer this season. Raphinha has looked in good touch, but even he has just 1 goal in the last 5 games. Lamine Yamal returned to the side in the semi final for the first time since the defeat against Leganes at home.

Despite these issues, FC Barcelona remain a dangerous side and the inclusion of Gavi has made things even better for them – after a poor run of form since November.

Expect no changes in their defensive structure who still continue to play the high-line even though it has not been as successful as it was at the start of the season.

It will be interesting to see whether it will be Inaki Pena between the sticks or the veteran Wojciech Szczęsny.

These two sides also met in the Spanish Super Cup final last season, with the Merengues winning the title courtesy of a Vinícius hattrick.

All in all, the King Abdullah Sports City will be witnessing yet another cracking El Clasico, with FC Barcelona hoping to win their 1st title of the season, while Real Madrid would be eager to win successive titles over their arch rivals.