Real Madrid play their first Final of the 2023-2024 season against big rivals FC Barcelona. With Xavi’s men currently sitting seven points behind Madrid in La Liga table, Barça know that they need to make a statement in this game to turn their season around.
Barcelona secured their spot in the Supercopa de Espana 2023-24 final by defeating Osasuna 2-0 in the semi-final. Goals from Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal sealed the victory, setting the stage for a mouth-watering El Clasico final.
The Carlo Ancelotti-coached Real Madrid team, meanwhile, beat city rivals Atletico Madrid in a tightly-contested semi-final clash. The match was tied at 3-3 after regulation time before goals from Joselu and Brahim Diaz decided the fixture in extra time.
At a pre-match press conference, Barca coach Xavi Hernandez admitted he was “crazy” to beat Los Blancos in a Saudi episode of El Clasico, which is also a repeat of last season’s decider won 3-1 by his men.
“The team is very motivated, very excited. There is no better scenario for a footballer. Trying to put in a great performance: we have the example of last season, which is the ideal game,” Xavi said.
SuperCopa de España promises to be a star-studded affair featuring talents like Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos and Vinicius Junior alongside Barcelona’s standout players like Ferran Torres, Lewandowski and Pedri.
Date/Time: Sunday, January 14, 2024, 10pm AST (local time), 8pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 7pm GMT (UK), 2pm ET, 11am PT (USA), 12.30am IST (India, Monday).
Venue: Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera.
VAR: César Soto Grado.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS ::
Real Madrid: Kepa, Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Tchouameni, Kroos, Valverde, Bellingham, Vinicius, Rodrygo.
Barcelona: Peña, Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde, Gundogan, Roberto, De Jong, Raphinha, Torres, Lewandowski.
The Super Cup is the least important trophy of the season, but El Clásico makes it means a lot more. It means everything to Madrid, in fact. And Barça must have the same attitude. This should be fun.
