Real Madrid will face Athletic Club in a match that will begin on January 16, 2022 at 18:30 UTC at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The match is a Super Cup qualifier.
MATCH INFO
Start date: 17 Jan 2022 00:00
Location: Riyadh
Venue: King Fahd Stadium
Referee: Cesar Soto Grado, Spain
Head to Head Record
23/12/21
FT: Athletic Club 1-2 Real Madrid
02/12/21
FT: Real Madrid 1-0 Athletic Club
Real Madrid vs Athletic Club Preview
The difference between Real Madrid and Barcelona in the first semi-final on Wednesday evening was Federico Valverde’s 98th-minute effort, with Los Blancos coming out on top in a five-goal thriller to clinch their place in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.
Los Blancos are the competition’s second most successful side, having won the trophy 11 times, the most recent of which was in 2020, however they were defeated by Athletic in the semi-finals last year.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team has now won three consecutive games in three different tournaments, defeating Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey and Valencia in the league.
Athletic have won the Spanish Super Cup three times and are the current winners, having defeated Barcelona 3-2 in the final of the competition in 2021.
In the closing 15 minutes of Thursday’s semi-final, the Basques trailed 1-0 against Atletico Madrid, but Yeray Alvarez equalised in the 77th minute before Nico Williams scored the winner in the 81st minute.
Athletic have won three of their past four matches in all categories, including a 2-0 win against Mancha Real in the Copa del Rey earlier this month, but their last league encounter was a 0-0 draw with Alaves on January 9.
Real Madrid Team News
Mariano Diaz and Gareth Bale were unable to go to Saudi Arabia owing to hamstring and back problems, respectively, while David Alaba was unable to compete in the semi-final due to a hamstring problem.
Because Alaba is unlikely to recover in time for this match, Nacho should stay in the midst of the defence, but a change at right-back will be required, as Dani Carvajal has tested positive for COVID-19.
Lucas Vazquez is expected to start on the right side of the defence, while Rodrygo might replace Marco Asensio in the last third of the field.
Athletic Bilbao Team News
Unai Nunez, Unai Vencedor, Ander Capa, and Asier Villalibre are all out for the Basque team right now.
Mikel Vesga, Raul Garcia, Nico Williams, and Yuri Berchiche all came off the bench in the semi-final and will be in contention for this match if Marcelino decides to rearrange his lineup.
Vesga might replace Oier Zarraga in the centre of the park, but there aren’t likely to be any other changes to the starting lineup, with Iker Muniain, Alex Berenguer, Inaki Williams, and Oihan Sancet set to return to the attacking line-up.
Possible Lineups
Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius
Athletic Bilbao XI: Simon; De Marcos, Yeray, Martinez, Balenziaga; Berenguer, Vesga, D Garcia, Muniain; Sancet, I Williams
Watch it live on Sofascore.