Real Madrid Softness in the past Mallorca And Barcelona Take it easy Athletic Club To establish one Classico Exhibition in Spanish Supercopa i final Saudi Arabia on Sunday (Stream live on ESPN+, US at 2pm ET.).
This is the third season in a row that Madrid and Barca have met at this stage, with the previous winners La Liga Title — Barca in 2023 and Madrid last year. Two years ago, then-Barça coach Xavi Hernandez even spoke of the confidence that came from beating Madrid in the Supercopa.
Both teams have experienced up-and-down seasons, but they will go into Sunday’s game in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with all their stars available in attack. For Madrid, there are signs that Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr And Jude Bellingham Good things are coming for Barça. Lamin yamel has returned from injury to partner with Rapunha And Robert Lewandowski. Dani Olmo Also available again after Registration failure which saw him miss out on the semi-finals. –– Sam Marsden
Classico Head to head all the time
All competitions
Madrid 105, Barcelona 101, draw 52
The finals
Madrid 5, Barcelona 4
— ESPN Research
What happened in the end? Classico?
of October 4-0 humble Real Madrid peaked at Barcelona’s early season form at the Bernabéu. It was a victory for Hansi Flick’s High Risk High Line And a shock to the Madrid system, which led to a mini-crisis. Los Blancos. But it was also a game — despite the scoreline — on razor-thin margins. If Madrid, and Kylian Mbappé in particular, had been a bit more clinical and used Barca’s defense with more precision, the result would have been very different.
Madrid had several chances to score, spurned by poor finishing or an offside flag, before Robert Lewandowski hit the target in the 54th minute. Two minutes later, Lewandowski scored a second goal, effectively ending the game. By the time Lamine Yamal and Raphinha struck late on, the scoreline suggested a rout, but it did not reflect the balance of play over 90 minutes.
All this suggests that recurrence is not guaranteed. And we’ve seen that big in recent years. Classico Wins are not necessarily predictive of the next meeting, or the season as a whole. As examples go, Madrid would prefer to see the last Supercopa in January 2024, when Vinicius Jr’s hat-trick inspired a comprehensive. 4-1 Conquest of Madrid. — Alex Kirkland
How have Real Madrid and Barcelona’s seasons gone so far?
Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti’s side already have two trophies for 2024-25: UEFA Super Cup And FIFA Intercontinental Cup. They are trying to add a third in Jeddah, and this with a team that has yet to truly find its rhythm.
Madrid started the season slowly — a draw at Mallorca Las Palmas August showed a lack of coordination — and there have been some high-profile defeats along the way, notably Lily, AC Milan And Liverpool i Champions Leagueand they were beaten at home by Barça. Mbappé has been criticized, and injuries, in particular Dani Carvajalhas weakened the team.
But overall, the trend is one of gradual improvement. Jude Bellingham has been the star — his all-round game is now even better than last season’s heroics — with Vinícius Júnior not far behind. Mbappé’s goalscoring rate has improved, even if he has yet to hit top form. The weak link is the defense, and especially the fullbacks, with Lucas Vazquez Struggling to replace Carvajal’s defensive output. — Kirkland
Barcelona: Barcelona’s season can be divided into two parts: before November and after November. Prior to November, they had won 12 of 14 games, scoring four or more goals in seven of those matches, including wins over Madrid and Bayern Munich. Since November, they have won seven of 13 games and lost five, including a shock home loss against Las Palmas And Leganés.
Various reasons have been given for their sinking. Raphinha suggested there was some fatigue, Lewandowski has spoken of the team’s mentality in “small” games and there was a period when they were without Yamel. Opposing players and coaches have also spoken about how they successfully targeted Barcelona’s superior defensive line, which had such disastrous results for them earlier in the season.
After back-to-back wins against Barbastro at the start of 2025, Madrid beat and Athletic Clubwill fuel the sensation that they have turned into the flick called “s— November”. — Marsden
Key clashes.
Mbappé vs Barcelona Defence: Mbappé caught offside a A career-high eight times — six of them in the first half — when the two teams met in October. And when he wasn’t offside, his finishing was erratic. But the slump came amid a seven-game dry spell with just one goal.
Since then, Mbappé has been scoring more regularly, finding the net in four consecutive games in December. He has scored in both Madrid finals so far in 2024-25 and Atlanta. A big performance against Barca on Sunday will be the highlight of his season so far, and the “I’m him” moment everyone is waiting for. –Kirkland
Yamel vs Mindy. Yamal showed no signs of the ill effects of an ankle injury as he returned to score the second goal in Wednesday’s semi-final win over Athletic. Ferland Mandy The 17-year-old knows all about the danger he poses after he suffered a concussion at the Bernabeu in October. A fight between the two could decide the game.
Yamal’s numbers may not be as impressive as Raphinha’s and Lewandowski’s — although he has still scored seven goals and provided 12 assists this season — but Barca are always better when he’s on the pitch. He has started 20 games this season, and Barca have won 17 of them. He demands attention down the right and, if he doesn’t score or assist, it creates more space for others. — Marsden
Classico Prophecies
Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona. There will be goals. On both ends. Even against Mallorca in the semi-final, Madrid looked weak at times, and Barcelona’s defense is not as strong as it was. It will come down to which team is more clinical. Bellingham should star again, and Vinny Jnr will have a point to prove, after looking unhappy to be substituted towards the end of the Mallorca game. It will be fun. –Kirkland
Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona. It’s hard to disagree with Alex that there will be goals. The first will be particularly key. If Barça get it, it will force Madrid to be more open than they normally are. If Madrid get it, Barça have a habit of chasing games before they need to. So, I think this will mirror the last two finals between the teams, whoever scores first will eventually win comfortably. I’m not sure who. — Marsden
Betting odds
Real Madrid -125, Barcelona -105 (at time of publication)
— ESPN BET