Real Madrid and Barcelona will take a brief pause from their battle for Spain's La Liga title and they will instead wrestle for the first piece of silverware in the Spanish domestic season: the Supercopa de Espana.
The two giants will face off in the Supercopa final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after both survived their respective midweek semifinals via penalty shootouts during which their goalkeepers came up with decisive stops.
Real Madrid are not exactly in the best of form during this recent stretch of the season, but they will take heart from the fact that they dismantled Barcelona 3-1 back on October 16 in league play, handing the Blaugrana their only loss of the league season thus far.
But Barcelona also came up with a head-to-head win of their own in the summer, though it was during preseason in a friendly the two played in Las Vegas. That 1-0 victory came on a goal from then-newcomer Raphinha, who is by now a regular on the right wing for his team.
This will be the ninth time that these eternal rivals are facing off in the Supercopa competition with Real Madrid having won on seven occasions. Los Blancos are vying for six trophies available to them this season, having already captured the European Super Cup in May.
LIVE BLOG: Follow the El Clasico action as it happens with highlights, analysis, commentary, and more
Real Madrid vs Barcelona live stream, TV channel
Select broadcasters in countries around the world have carried the Spanish Supercopa matches, including in the UK and USA.
For other regions that don't have a local broadcast or stream, fans can access the matches on streaming platform Shahid VIP, as indicated by LiveSoccerTV.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | — | Shahid |
| Canada | — | Shahid |
| Hong Kong | — | Shahid |
| India | — | Shahid |
| Malaysia | — | Shahid |
| New Zealand | — | Shahid |
| Singapore | — | Shahid |
| UK | BT Sport 1 | BT Sport site/app |
| USA | ABC, ESPN Deportes | fuboTV, ESPN+ |
UK: The Supercopa will be carried in the UK on BT Sport's TV and streaming platforms.
USA: The match will be televised on ABC (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish) with both those televised matches streaming on fuboTV. ESPN's streaming service ESPN+ will also carry streams in English and Spanish for subscribers.
MORE: Best bets for Spanish Supercopa final
Real Madrid vs Barcelona lineups, team news
A Real Madrid team already missing the injured Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba saw three more players pick up injuries in Wednesday's semifinal. But only right-back Lucas Vazquez (right ankle) won't recover in time for the final, forcing Dani Carvajal to start the match.
Luka Modric was rested against Valencia in the semifinal, and he returns as expected to start the final. It was thought that Eduardo Camavinga, who's reportedly not 100 percent, would drop to the bench, but instead it's Rodrygo who falls out, as Federico Valverde moves up into the attack. Ferland Mendy also returning to the XI after Nacho Fernandez served as the starter against Valencia.
Real Madrid confirmed lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Thibaut Courtois (GK) — 2. Dani Carvajal, 3. Eder Militao, 22. Antonio Rudiger, 23. Ferland Mendy — 8. Toni Kroos, 12. Edudardo Camavinga, 10. Luka Modric — 15. Federico Valverde, 9. Karim Benzema, 20. Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid subs (12): 13-Andriy Lunin (GK), 26-Luis Lopez (GK), 17-Lucas Vazquez, 6-Nacho Fernandez, 5-Jesus Vallejo, 16-Alvaro Odriozola, 19-Dani Ceballos, 31-Mario Martin, 12-Eduardo Camavinga, 7-Eden Hazard, 11-Marco Asensio, 24-Mariano Diaz
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After starting the semifinal on the bench, veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets was expected to return to the XI, and he does, slotting into the middle. Sports daily AS posited a scenario in which coach Xavi Hernandez opts to play with four midfielders, in which Frenkie de Jong would come in for Raphinha, and that ultimately came true.
Reports also indicated that Ronald Araujo, who trained separately from the team on the eve of the match, would be tabbed to return. That also comes true, with Andreas Christensen entering at centre-back to partner with Jules Kounde and Araujo in a three-at-the-back system. Ousmane Dembele will play wing-back opposite Alex Balde.
Barcelona confirmed starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (GK) — 4. Ronaldo Araujo, 23. Jules Kounde, 15. Andreas Christensen — 28. Alex Balde, 21. Frenkie De Jong, 5. Sergio Busquets, 7. Ousmane Dembele — 8. Pedri, 30. Gavi — 9. Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona subs (11): 13-Inaki Pena (GK), 36-Arnau Tenas (GK), 24-Eric Garcia, 18-Jordi Alba, 17-Marcos Alonso, 20-Sergi Roberto, 19-Franck Kessie, 10-Ansu Fati, 22-Raphinha, 14-Memphis Depay, 11-Ferran Torres.
MORE: Why is the Spanish Supercopa held in Saudi Arabia?
Real Madrid vs Barcelona odds
Barcelona have the slight edge according to the betting markets, with goals also expected in the match.
Although not listed in the table below, the betting numbers say that Robert Lewandowski has the better likelihood to score at nearly even money odds, with Karim Benzema at nearly the same price.
MORE: Everything to know about the Spanish Supercopa 2023
| USA (Caesars) | Canada (Sports Interaction) | UK (SkyBet) | AUS (Neds) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid win (90 mins) | +180 | 2.64 | 7/4 | 2.65 |
| Draw (90 mins) | +245 | 3.39 | 13/5 | 3.25 |
| Barcelona win (90 mins) | +150 | 2.49 | 11/8 | 2.30 |
| Both teams to score (Y / N) | -160 / +125 | 1.52 / 2.21 | 1/2, 6/4 | 1.53 / 2.35 |
| Over / Under 2.5 total goals | -135 / +105 | 1.68 / 2.10 | 8/13, 6/5 | 1.67 / 2.10 |
| Real Madrid +0.5 | -190 | 1.52 | — | — |
| Barcelona -0.5 | +155 | 2.43 | — | — |
