Real Madrid Expected Lineup And Team News Vs. FC Barcelona In Super Cup Final

The Spanish Super Cup final will pit Real Madrid against FC Barcelona for the third year in a row as Los Blancos aim for their possible third title of the season to join the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

The next challenge will be to secure a 14th Spanish Super Cup title, adding to the trophy they won last year when they beat FC Barcelona 4-1 in the final with a Vinícius Júnior hat-trick which was revenge for a 3-1 defeat against the Catalans the previous year.

This year’s final will take place at 10:00pm AST local time, 3:00pm Eastern Time, at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Sunday, January 12th. It will welcome fans from both teams, in the vast majority being locals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in addition to each team bringing a couple of hundred fans each from Spain with them.

The game will be refereed by Jesús Gil Manzano, taking care of his fourth Clásico, with Real Madrid having won all three of the previous fixtures between the two teams with him in the middle. They have all come in league competition.

Real Madrid team news vs. FC Barcelona

Real Madrid are set to shake off a series of injuries ahead of the Spanish Super Cup final, with four injury doubts all set to be available to start the final against FC Barcelona in Jeddah on Sunday night.

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Fede Valverde was taken off with a muscle injury in the semi-final, while English star Jude Bellingham also appeared to be hobbling at the end of the 90 minutes. However, Carlo Ancelotti played down the concerns by saying, "Bellingham and Valvede were overloaded".

The other player forced off on Thursday night was Aurélien Tchouameni. The Frenchman suffered a head injury and was substituted immediately. Post-match, Ancelotti also showed his optimism about his availability for the final, explaining, "Tchouameni looked good on the bench. The doctor preferred to take him off the pitch, because it was a blow to the head".

Luka Modrić is also in line to be fit, though his involvement in training has been limited since overcoming a virus which forced him out of the semi-final against Mallorca on Thursday.

Expected Real Madrid lineup vs. FC Barcelona

Real Madrid's expected lineup vs FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vázquez, Aurélien Tchouameni, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy; Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde, Jude Bellingham; Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo Goes.

Carlo Ancelotti looks set to name an unchanged lineup for his side from the team that beat Mallorca in the semi-final in Jeddah on Thursday night. Despite the injury scares, all of his options are fit and ready to start.

One change could be the return to the bench of Luka Modrić, the club captain, who fell unwell earlier in the week and was not included in the squad list for the game against Mallorca. He could be joined on the bench in midfield options by Dani Ceballos, Brahim Díaz and Arda Güler.