Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Preview and Betting Tips | Spanish Super Cup Final 2025

Match: Real Madrid vs Barcelona
When: Sunday, 12 Jan 2025, 21:00 SAST
Where: King Abdullah Sports City

Los Blancos beat Mallorca 3-0 whilst Blaugrana won 2-0 versus Athletic Bilbao to reach this showpiece. Barcelona won 4-0 when these sides met in October.

Real Madrid Form

Los Blancos had a tough spell from late October to early December, losing four of seven fixtures. There was a 4-0 thrashing at home by Barcelona, a 3-1 home loss to AC Milan, a 2-0 loss at Liverpool and a 2-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in that streak. They’ve responded with seven wins in the last eight.

That run has seen the side score 3+ goals in seven of those eight matches. They beat Sevilla 4-2 before the mid-season break and have three wins since then. Real Madrid won 2-1 at Valencia and 5-0 at Deportiva Minera in the Copa del Rey. On Thursday, they won 3-0 at Mallorca in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals with 28 shots.

Real Madrid Team News

Carlo Ancelotti is without two long-term injury victims in Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao. David Alaba is finally available again to boost options in the back four.

Aurelien Tchouameni went off injured on Thursday. He was covering in central defence and may be replaced by Raul Asencio for this match. Luka Modric should be back in the squad for this one.

Real Madrid Motivation

Ancelotti will go all out to win this match. They will want revenge for the 4-0 hammering at the hands of their rivals in October.

A pragmatic display is expected with fast counters through Kylian Mbappe. They can’t open up against the threat that Barcelona poses.

Barcelona Form

Barcelona had an incredible start to this season but their results going into the break were troubling. They suffered four losses in nine matches prior to the new year. There were league defeats at Real Sociedad (1-0) and at home to Las Palmas (2-1). A 5-1 win at Mallorca and a 3-2 win at Dortmund came soon after.

In late December, their title charge took a major blow as they lost 1-0 at home to Leganes and 2-1 at home to Atletico Madrid in the 96^th minute having outshot Atleti 19-5. They have begun 2025 with two wins. A 4-0 success at lower league Barbastro in the Copa del Rey preceded a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao in Wednesday’s Super Cup semi.

Barcelona Team News

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegan remains out injured. Inaki Pena has largely been covering but Wojciech Szczęsny played on Wednesday and may keep his place here. Gavi is fully fit after injury and got a goal and assist against Athletic Bilbao. He could be preferred to Frenkie De Jong in midfield.

Ronald Araujo is back from injury but Andreas Christensen will play no part. Dani Olmo and Pau Victor are both available after they were granted registration by the Spanish national sports council.

Barcelona Motivation

Blaugrana will be confident ahead of this match having thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 earlier this season.

They will look to take the game to Los Blancos but they can also drop back and use fast counters.

Key Stats

Real Madrid have won 7 of their last 8 matches (26 goals scored)

Real Madrid have won 4 of the last 5 clashes vs Barca, scoring 13 goals.

Barcelona have lost 2 of their last 4 matches

Barcelona have seen 35 goals in their last 10 matches (23 scored, 12 conceded)

Verdict

This match should have goals to enjoy. Real Madrid look in better form but they may leak a goal or two with their defensive injuries. I’m backing a win for Los Blancos.

Best Bet: Real Madrid win at 2.30
Value Bet: Real Madrid win and both teams to score at 3.80