PREVIEW | FC Barcelona v Osasuna

FC Barcelona begin (and hopefully don't end) their bid to retain the Spanish Super Cup this Thursday at 8pm CET in the 25,000 capacity King Saud University Stadium (also known for sponsorship reasons as Al-Awwal Park), in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

Barça are participating in what has, since the 2019-20 season, been a four-team tournament, doing so by virtue of being the reigning Liga champions, and they're playing Osasuna, who qualify as the losing finalists in last season's Copa del Rey.

The prize is a place in Sunday's final at the same venue against Real Madrid, who saw off Atlético Madrid in a thoroughly entertaining semi-final on Wednesday that ended 5-3 after extra time.

Barça  are quite used to visiting Saudi Arabia, which has hosted every edition of the Super Cup since it adopted its new format, which the exception of 2020-21 when the venue was moved to Andalusia, Spain due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. And for most of the players, this is not the first time they have appeared at the KSU, which was also the venue for the Maradona Cup friendly against Boca Juniors two Decembers ago. The ground is normally the home of Saudi Super League side Al-Nassr, whose playing staff include Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, Marcelo Brozovic and Aymeric Laporte.

The blaugrana go into the tournament as the defending champions, having won the trophy 12 months ago thanks to that brilliant display against Real Madrid in the final. That was the first time the Catalans have won the four-team event, although they top the all-time table with 14 wins since the Super Cup was first contested in 1983.

Osasuna form guide

In contrast, for Osasuna this is a brand new experience. The side from Pamplona, Navarra have never won a major trophy before and this is the first time they have contested the Spanish Super Cup. As well as reaching the cup final, their seventh place in the league last year qualified them for the Europa League playoffs, but they failed to make the group stage after losing to Club Brugge of Belgium.

They have spent most of the current season in mid-table, but have just hit on their best run of form of the season, with just one defeat in their last five games. 

Head to head

Last five meetings (all La Liga)
03/09/23 Osasuna 1-2 Barça
02/05/23 Barça 1-0 Osasuna
08/11/22 Osasuna 1-2 Barça
13/03/22 Barça 4-0 Osasuna
12/12/21 Osasuna 2-2 Barça

The last decade and a half have brought some huge wins for Barça against Osasuna, including two occasions when they scored seven goals, and a staggering 8-0 win in 2011. And Barça have only lost once to Osasuna since 2012, a shock 2-1 defeat at Camp Nou four years ago.

These have included wins the last four times the sides met, although the three most recent were all decided by a solitary goal. In the meeting earlier this season at El Sadar, although Jules Kounde put Barça ahead just before half-time, Chimy Ávila equalised for the home side with a quarter of an hour to go. Barça eventually grabbed the win with a Robert Lewandowski penalty four minutes from time.

Team news

The injured Marc-André ter Stegen, Gavi and Marcos Alonso have all been left had home to concentrate on their recovery programmes, but the FC Barcelona squad does include Joao Cancelo, Iñigo Martínez and Pedri, all of whom are carrying fitness issues but may be good to play on Thursday or in a hypothetical final on Sunday. The team doctors will be assessing each of the trio's condition while in the Middle East.

Osasuna are missing one of their strongest players, Argentine forward Chimy Ávila, the man who netted against Barça earlier this season. But with the likes of Ante Budimir and Aimar Oroz supporting their cause, the Navarrans are sure to pose a tough challenge for Xavi's men.

What they're saying

Speaking on Wednesday, coach Xavi said “firstly, we really respect Osasuna, but lifting the Super Cup could be a turning point, just like it was for us last year. The group are really looking forward to it and are close-knit."

Defender Ronald Araujo also gave a pre-game conference, saying that "“I always want to give my all when I put on the FC Barcelona jersey. I am aware of the responsibility that comes with wearing this Club's captain's armband, it makes me proud. I try to help the team and encourage when things aren't going that well.”