SUPER CUP FINAL PREVIEW: FC Barcelona v Real Madrid

Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia, has been the venue this week for the four-team Spanish Super Cup. FC Barcelona secured their place in the final with a 2-0 defeat of Athletic Club on Tuesday, the goals scored by Gavi and Lamine Yamal. 24 hours later, they were joined by Real Madrid, who took over an hour to get off the mark against Mallorca, but eventually won 3-0.

It means that for the tenth time since it was first contested in 1982 and the third year in a row, the final is doubling as a showdown between the two most famous rivals in world football. On Sunday at 8pm CET, the first Clásico of 2025 gets under way. Despite winning, one gets the feeling that neither side produced their best football in the semi-finals, perhaps reserving their best for what promises to be a scintillating final.

The broadcasters of this game are not necessarily the same ones that show Liga and Champions League games, so you might need our guide to help work out how you can watch the game where you are in the world.

Head to head

Barça have won this title 14 times. That's more than any club. However, the all-whites are right behind them with 13 wins. So, should Barça win on Sunday, they'll extend their record even further, while defeat would leave the two clubs neck-and-neck at the top of the all-time table.

Recent results between these teams are testimony of just how utterly unpredictable El Clásico can be. As is only to be expected, there have been some excruciatingly tight encounters, but on a curiously large number of occasions, one side or other has run away with big wins. Last October, Barça utterly crushed Madrid in the league at the Bernabeu, but that ended a run of four consecutive wins for the all-whites, who twice racked up four goals.

One of those games was the Super Cup Final two years ago, where Madrid were comfortable 4-1 winners. Yet just 12 months earlier, Barça had been by far the superior side, the eventual 3-1 outcome not reflecting how totally smothered Madrid were that day.

THE LAST TEN CLÁSICOS
26/10/24 (LIGA) Real Madrid 0-4 Barça
21/04/24 (LIGA) Real Madrid 3-2 Barça
14/01/24 (SUPER CUP) Real Madrid 4-1 Barça
28/10/23 (LIGA) Barça 1-2 Real Madrid
05/04/23 (COPA DEL REY) Barça 0-4 Real Madrid
19/03/23 (LIGA) Barça 2-1 Real Madrid
02/03/23 (COPA DEL REY) Real Madrid 0-1 Barça
15/01/23 (SUPER CUP) Real Madrid 1-3 Barça
16/10/22 (LIGA) Real Madrid 3-1 Barça
20/03/22 (LIGA) Real Madrid 0-4 Barça

Team news

Real Madrid are largely unchanged since the Super Cup Final last year, having only lost influential midfielder Toni Kroos to retirement, although both Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will miss the rest of the season through injury. Superstar signing Kylian Mbappe took some time to settle, but is now producing the kind of brilliance he displayed at PSG, and will obviously be one of the key threats on Sunday.

Barça have been troubled all season by unavailable players, but things are finally starting to look up. The biggest news is that the registration issues regarding Dani Olmo and Pau Victor have been settled for the time being, and both are able to play the final. And Lamine Yamal was taken to Saudi Arabia in the hope that he'd be match fit in time and not only did that prove to be the case, but he produced a lovely performance against Athletic on Wednesday.

Andreas Christensen has also made the trip, but isn't quite ready to play yet, while Ronald Araujo is still re-adapting after a long period of his own on the side-lines.

Things are interesting in goal. Until now, Iñaki Peña has been filling in for the injured Ter Stegen in goal. However, Wojciech Szczęsny was given a chance against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey and in the Super Cup semi-final, and impressed with two clean sheets. Hansi Flick has some thinking to do.

What they're saying

Iñigo Martinez: "We know how to hurt Real Madrid"

Pedri: 'We have to control the game'

Hansi Flick: 'We must play better than against Athletic'