Spain's El Clasico rivals meet for the 2025 Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah on Sunday evening.
After Barcelona beat Athletic Club 2-0 in Wednesday night's first semi-final, Real Madrid finally got the job done the following evening after being held by Mallorca for the opening hour. After Jude Bellingham opened the scoring, Madrid cruised to a 3-0 victory to set up a repeat of the 2024 final.
These two have met in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup, with Madrid the current holders after beating Barca 4-1 in Riyadh. In 2023, Xavi's Blaugrana produced a brilliant performance in a 3-1 victory.
Sunday's finalists look set to be fiercely contested League this season and this race could provide a huge psychological advantage for the winner. However, Atletico Madrid, having beaten Barca before Christmas, are also well in contention and will be fresh for the resumption of La Liga.
Here it is 90 minutes game guide.
Real Madrid – Barcelona H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Real Madrid |
Barcelona |
|---|---|
|
Real Madrid 3-0 Mallorca – 09/01/25 |
Athletic Club 0-2 Barcelona – 08/01/25 |
|
Deportivo Minera 0-5 Real Madrid – 01/06/25 |
Barbastro 0-4 Barcelona – 04/01/25 |
|
Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid – 03/01/25 |
Barcelona 1-2 Atletico Madrid – 21/12/24 |
|
Real Madrid 4-2 Sevilla – 22/12/24 |
Barcelona 0-1 Leganes – 15.12.24 |
|
Real Madrid 3-0 Pachuca – 18.12.24 |
Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Barcelona – 11.12.24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Not televised |
|
United States |
ESPN+, fuboTV, ESPN App, ABC App, ABC, ESPN Sports |
|
Canada |
Not televised |
Madrid lined up as expected for their semi-final against Mallorca, but Ancelotti may be more encouraged than his counterpart to rotate given his side were in action 24 hours after Barcelona toppled Athletic Club.
If the Italian decides on a reshuffle, Arda Guler, Fran Garcia, Dani Ceballos and Brahim Diaz are more likely to enter the team. However, Carletto likely to risk possible burnout for Sunday's final.
David Alaba was among the substitutes on Thursday and could be called up here with Aurelien Tchouameni suffering a head injury against Mallorca. Luka Modric was absent due to illness last time out and is unlikely to play.
Real Madrid predicted the formation against Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe.
Barcelona have Ronald Araujo available in Saudi Arabia but Flick is unlikely to split his centre-back pairing for Sunday's final after they kept a clean sheet on Wednesday.
Dani Olmo has been granted temporary leave to play after his initial registration with the club expired at the end of 2024, but the Spaniard will not be included here. Gavi was used in a more advanced role against Athletic Club and produced a standout performance.
Flick's squad has become healthier in the new year with Araujo and Andreas Christenen back in contention, but they are still without long-term absentee Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Barcelona predicted the formation against Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Punishment; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedro; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
The previous three winners of this competition have gone on to lift La Liga, although the race at the top looks set to be much tighter this time around. Perhaps the boost taken from the triumph in Jeddah will prove to be the advantage when all is said and done.
With both managers unlikely to change from their semi-final wins, we could be in for a long final and the game could be decided from the bench.
Madrid are out for revenge hit home in October's El Clasico and they should be favored here despite Barca's measured performance on Wednesday. In the big case with silverware on the line, Madrid usually gets the job done. They are already chasing their third trophy of 2024/25.