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Who: Barcelona vs Real Madrid
What: Spanish Super Cup final
Where: King Abdullah Sports City Stadium successful Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
When: Sunday, January 11, astatine 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We volition person each the buildup connected Al Jazeera Sport from 15:00 GMT, successful beforehand of our substance commentary stream.
One of sport’s top matchups volition grace the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium successful Jeddah connected Sunday arsenic Barcelona look fierce rivals Real Madrid successful the last of the Spanish Super Cup.
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Barca, the defending champions who bushed Real successful past year’s final, are the squad to halt erstwhile much successful Spain’s apical flight, La Liga.
Real, connected the different hand, are nether expanding pressure, particularly their caller manager, Xabi Alonso.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look astatine a last that carries truthful overmuch much value erstwhile it holds the tag: El Clasico.
Why are Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso nether pressure?
Alonso has steadied Real Madrid’s vessel successful caller weeks aft a tumultuous period, but the Spanish Super Cup last seems a make-or-break infinitesimal for the beleaguered coach.
On the brink of the sack aft a dire tally of form, Alonso responded by starring Madrid to 5 consecutive victories, the 5th coming connected Thursday against Atletico Madrid successful the semifinals.
Beating Super Cup holders Barcelona would bring Alonso the archetypal trophy astatine the helm.
A 2nd triumph successful 2 matches against Barcelona would bargain Alonso clip and breathing room.
But succumbing to Hansi Flick’s broadside would springiness Real president Florentino Perez a further excuse to region a manager helium hired successful June but has ne'er appeared convinced by.
Spanish media reported that Perez was acceptable to sack Alonso if the squad mislaid against Manchester City successful the Champions League connected December 10, which they did, but the team’s improved show bought the manager different chance.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe during grooming successful Saudi Arabia up of the Super Cup last [Vincent West/Reuters]What happened successful past year’s Super Cup last betwixt Real and Barca?
Barcelona trounced Real Madrid 5-2 successful past year’s final, which was besides successful Jeddah.
It was a damaging stroke for then-manager Carlo Ancelotti, portion proving a springboard for Hansi Flick – caller successful his relation arsenic Barca boss.
How important is Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid and Barcelona?
Lifting the Super Cup worked for Flick’s fledgling tenure astatine Barcelona past season, galvanising his squad to assertion La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
In the 3 seasons anterior to that, the Super Cup winners besides went connected to triumph the Spanish apical flight.
“Two things are wide – arsenic it’s the tourney we’re playing for [now], it’s the astir important,” said Alonso.
“If you inquire maine astir it successful presumption of bid of precedence successful the season, it’s the fourth.”
What’s the latest connected Real Madrid guardant Kylian Mbappe?
Real are boosted by the instrumentality of Mbappe to the squad aft helium missed the 2-1 win implicit Atletico and Sunday’s 5-1 thrashing of Real Betis successful La Liga portion recovering from a genu sprain.
The manager said Mbappe has arsenic overmuch accidental of starting against Barcelona arsenic anyone other and is assured the guardant has recovered, adjacent though helium was expected to miss different week.
With 29 goals successful 24 appearances crossed each competitions, Mbappe is Real Madrid’s apical extremity scorer this play and their clear, stand-out performer.
The striker has netted six goals against Barcelona successful 5 games since joining Real Madrid.
His instrumentality could marque beingness trickier for Alonso due to the fact that the squad does not look to relation astatine its champion erstwhile Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham enactment up together.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal during grooming up of the Spanish Super Cup last [Vincent West/Reuters]How are Real Madrid’s Brazil forwards, Vinicius and Rodrygo, faring?
One subordinate who has go indispensable for Alonso successful caller weeks is Brazilian winger Rodrygo.
After a miserable tally of 32 games without scoring, the right-winger has burst into beingness with 3 goals and 3 assists successful his past 5 matches.
On the other flank, Vinicius is struggling for form.
Since finishing 2nd successful the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings, helium has dipped acold from his apical level.
Vinicius has not scored successful his past 16 outings for Real Madrid, and Alonso indispensable determine whether to enactment up with him against Barca.
What happened the past clip Barcelona played Real Madrid?
The Catalans bushed Madrid 4 times successful 4 encounters past season, but Alonso’s broadside bushed their rivals 2-1 successful October successful La Liga.
“We person to win; we mislaid 2 finals against them past year,” urged Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“They person to win, too. After losing the Clasico successful La Liga, they’ll privation revenge.”
Barcelona acceptable for Mbappe instrumentality for Real Madrid
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said Mbappe is the antheral of the moment, but backed his squad to win contempt his accomplishment successful Saudi Arabia.
“At the moment, Mbappe is the champion striker… he’s scored many, galore goals, and he’s a world-class player, that’s what I tin say,” admitted Flick, whose broadside hammered Real Betis 5-0 successful their semifinal connected Wednesday.
However, the German manager was anxious to constituent retired that past season, his broadside bushed Mbappe’s Madrid connected each 4 occasions they met.
Barca thrashed them 5-2 successful past season’s Spanish Super Cup final, arsenic good arsenic winning some La Liga Clasicos and the Copa del Rey final.
In their 1 gathering with Alonso’s broadside this season, Madrid secured a 2-1 league win.
“How galore Clasicos person we played successful the past twelvemonth and a half? And however galore did we win? We mislaid one,” said Flick.
“I cognize he’s a fantastic player, and for him, with abstraction down the [defence], he’s truly great…
“We volition accommodate something, similar we ever do, but it’s not particularly astir Mbappe, it’s astir Real Madrid, it’s astir however we privation to play and however we expect they privation to.”
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal celebrates with the trophy and his teammates aft winning the Spanish Super Cup past play [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]What’s the Spanish Super Cup?
The Super Cup pits unneurotic the winners and runners-up of some the Spanish home league, La Liga, and Spain’s home cupful competition, Copa del Rey.
Although archetypal played successful 1982, betwixt the league and cupful winners alone, it was expanded to 4 teams successful 2020.
Barcelona are the existent league champions, with Real Madrid finishing second. They were besides the finalists of the Copa del Rey, resulting successful Athletic Madrid and Athletic Bilbao lining up successful the semifinals, pursuing their 3rd and fourth-place finishes successful the league past season.
Where volition the Spanish Super Cup last beryllium played?
The Super Cup is being staged successful Saudi Arabia for the 2nd twelvemonth running, with each 3 matches staged astatine King Abdullah Sports City Stadium successful Jeddah.
The venue plays big to the Saudi Arabian nationalist team, and volition beryllium portion of the 2034 World Cup.
Riyadh played big to the last the twelvemonth before, with Real Madrid emerging victorious with a 4-1 decision of Barcelona.
Head-to-head
This volition beryllium the 262nd gathering betwixt the teams, with Real Madrid winning 106, and Barcelona winning 104, of the encounters.
Barcelona squad news
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi and Andreas Christensen are each absent, with the second 2 troubled by genu problems and the erstwhile retired with an unspecified complaint.
Yamal is expected to instrumentality to the starting eleven, having not been acceptable capable to commencement the semifinal against Atletico. The winger did, however, travel disconnected the seat to find the net.
Ronald Araujo has returned to afloat training, but is lone expected to beryllium named among the subs.
Real Madrid squad news
Whether Mbappe makes the squad sheet, adjacent arsenic a starter oregon arsenic a sub, is the header news, pursuing a week of speculation astir the forward’s genu injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao and Brahim Diaz stay absent, but determination is simply a accidental that Rodrygo, Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio could walk fittingness tests aft knocks sustained successful the semifinal against Atletico.
Dean Huijsen returned to the seat for the Atletico lucifer and could instrumentality to the starting eleven successful spot of Rudiger, should his chap defender neglect to marque the grade.
Barcelona’s predicted starting lineup
J Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde, Pedri, De Jong, Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin, F Torres
Real Madrid’s predicted starting lineup
Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, Carreras, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
Barcelona and Real Madrid signifier guides
- Barcelona: W-W-W-W-W
- Real Madrid: W-W-W-W-W
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