Real Madrid comfortably beat Mallorca and Barcelona comfortably beat Athletic Club to set up a win classic Showdown in the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (2:00 p.m. ET, streaming LIVE on ESPN+, US only).

It is the third consecutive season that Madrid and Barça have met at this point, with the previous winners securing the LaLiga title – Barça in 2023 and Madrid last year. Xavi Hernández, the then Barça coach two years ago, even spoke about the confidence that came with beating Madrid in the Supercopa.

Both teams have endured an up-and-down season, but they go into Sunday’s game in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in relatively good shape, with all of their stars available in attack. For Madrid, there are signs that Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham are doing well. For Barça, Lamine Yamal is back from injury and works alongside Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. Dani Olmo is also available again after the registration fiasco that saw him miss the semi-finals. –-Sam Marsden

classic All-time head-to-head racing

All competitions
Madrid 105, Barcelona 101, draw 52

final
Madrid 5, Barcelona 4

— ESPN Research

What happened in the last one? classic?

The 4-0 defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in October was the highlight of Barcelona’s form at the start of the season. It was a triumph for Hansi Flick’s high-risk highline and a shock to Madrid’s system, triggering a minor crisis Los Blancos. But it was also a game that – despite the score – was won by a razor-thin margin. If Madrid, and Kylian Mbappé in particular, had been a little more clinical and exploited Barça’s defense more precisely, the result might have been very different.

Madrid had several scoring chances that were thwarted by either poor finishing or an offside flag before Robert Lewandowski found the net in the 54th minute. Two minutes later, Lewandowski scored the second goal and the game was virtually over. When Lamine Yamal and Raphinha came on late, the result suggested defeat, but that did not reflect the balance of the game over 90 minutes.

All of this suggests that there is no guarantee of a repeat. And that’s how big we’ve seen it in recent years classic Wins are not necessarily a prediction for the next meeting or the season as a whole. Based on precedent, Madrid would prefer to look forward to the last Supercopa in January 2024, when Vinícius Júnior’s hat-trick led to a comprehensive 4-1 victory for Madrid. –Alex Kirkland

How Real Madrid and Barcelona’s seasons have gone so far

Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti’s side already have two trophies under their belt for 2024-25: the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. They want to achieve a third place in Jeddah, and do so with a team that hasn’t really found its rhythm yet.

Madrid started the season slowly – draws against Mallorca and Las Palmas in August showed a worrying lack of cohesion – and there were some high-profile defeats along the way, most notably Barça’s home defeat to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool in the Champions League . There has been criticism of Mbappé and injuries, particularly to Dani Carvajal, have weakened the team.

But overall the trend is towards gradual improvement. Jude Bellingham was the star – his all-round game is now arguably even better than last season’s heroics – and Vinícius Júnior isn’t far behind. Mbappé’s goal rate has improved, even if he is not yet in top form. The weak link is the defense and particularly the full-backs, with Lucas Vázquez struggling to replace Carvajal’s defensive performance. –Kirkland

Barcelona: Barcelona’s season can be divided into two parts: before November and after November. Before November, they won 12 of 14 games and scored four or more goals in seven of those games, including wins against Madrid and Bayern Munich. Since November, they have won seven of 13 games and lost five, including surprise home defeats to Las Palmas and Leganés.

Various reasons have been given for their decline. Raphinha suggested there was some fatigue, Lewandowski spoke about the team’s mentality in the ‘smaller’ games and there was a period when they were without Yamal. Opponent players and coaches have also spoken about how they successfully targeted Barça’s high defensive line, which led to such devastating results for them at the start of the season.

Victory over Madrid, after back-to-back wins to start 2025 against Barbastro and Athletic Club, will reinforce the feeling that they have overcome the turning point behind what Flick described as “s— November”. — Marsden

Key conflicts

Mbappé against the Barcelona defense: When the two teams met in October, Mbappé was caught offside eight times – the most in his career – six of them in the first half. And when he wasn’t offside, his finishing was unpredictable. But that slump came amid a seven-game, one-goal losing streak.

Since then, Mbappé has scored more regularly and scored in four consecutive games in December. He also scored in both of Madrid’s previous finals in the 2024/25 season, against Pachuca and Atalanta. A big performance against Barça on Sunday would be the highlight of his season so far and the defining “I am him” moment everyone has been waiting for. –Kirkland

Yamal against Mendy. Yamal showed no signs of an ankle injury as he returned with the second goal in the semi-final win over Athletic on Wednesday. Ferland Mendy knows exactly what threat the 17-year-old poses, having been dizzy at the Bernabéu in October. The fight between the two could decide this game.

Yamal’s numbers may not be as impressive as those of Raphinha and Lewandowski – although he has still scored seven goals and provided 12 assists this season – but Barça are always better when he is on the pitch. He has started 20 games this season and Barça has won 17 of them. He demands attention on the right side and if he doesn’t score or provide an assist, it creates more space for others. — Marsden

classic Predictions

Real Madrid – Barcelona 3:2. There will be goals. At both ends. Even against Mallorca in the semi-finals, Madrid looked vulnerable at times and Barcelona’s defense is no longer as strong as it used to be. It depends on which team is more clinical. Bellingham should star again and Vini Jr will have to prove himself right after he looked unhappy about being 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 important. If Barça gets it, it will force Madrid to be more open than they would normally be. When Madrid gets it, Barça has a habit of chasing games earlier than necessary. So I think this will mirror the last two finals between the teams, with whoever scores first winning comfortably at the end. I’m just not sure who. — Marsden

Betting odds

Real Madrid -125, Barcelona -105 (at the time of publication)

— ESPN BET