Historic rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid collide when the Spanish Super Cup hits — checks notes — Saudi Arabia for a Sunday final.
Barca blasted Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday while Real Madrid outlasted local rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 a day later to set up a Clasico for the final.
Formerly a match-up of the Copa del Rey and La Liga champions, it’s been expanded to four teams and includes the finalists of the previous Copa del Rey and first- and second-place teams in La Liga.
As Barca beat Real to last season’s La Liga title and in the Copa del Rey final, La Liga third and fourth place teams Atleti and Bilbao made the cut for this tournament.
The Blaugranas have won the most Spanish Super Cups with 15, ahead of Real’s 13. Barca also lead this season’s La Liga table with 49 points, four points more than Real, though the second-place side can point to October’s 2-1 Clasico triumph over Barca.
For live highlights throughout Barcelona vs Real Madrid, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch El Clasico — Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spanish Super Cup Final, start time, more
Kick off time: 2pm ET Sunday
Venue: King Abdullah Sports City — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
TV Channel: ABC
Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo
Barcelona team news, focus
Gavi and Andreas Christensen remain long-term absences, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen has picked up a new injury and may be headed out of town anyway.
Barca have had to spread the attacking responsibility around as several big names have missed time including Raphinha, who has come back with a vengeance and has nine goals and four assists in just 1,011 minutes. Lamine Yamal is leading the way but Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford have been good contributors, Robert Lewandowski has nine goals in just 945 minutes, and leading scorer Ferran Torres. Dani Olmo and Roony Bardghji have also been good in limited time.
Eric Garcia and Pedri are having terrific seasons and should be key performers whenever they’re available.
Real Madrid team news, focus
There are four recent question marks, though the fact that Kylian Mbappe has traveled to Jeddah is a new, good question given he was not expected to play a role in the Spanish Super Cup. Antonio Rudiger (knee), Marco Asensio (knock), and Rodrygo (hamstring) are the other worries.
Mbappe has 29 goals in 24 games this season and no other player has more than five, so he’d be quite the help. Vinicius Junior and Arda Guler both double-digit goal contributions but the attack has not been elite aside from Mbappe this season. Jude Bellingham has found a bit of form with a goal and an assist in his last three contests, but so far this season has been a disappointment as he’s been living off reputation since his incredible 2023-24 campaign in Spain.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid prediction
The “anything can happen” cliche seems apropos here, and Barca’s extra day of rest after a comfortable win gives them a leg up even before considering Real’s injury status. Xabi Alonso could use a win and a trophy, but perhaps this isn’t the time for him. Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid.
