By Enitan Abdultawab

After narrowly defeating Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad in the semi-finals, the Clasico rivals square off in the competition’s championship match in Seville.

Los Blancos overcame a two-goal deficit in the second leg of their semi-final against Real Sociedad to draw 4-4 on the night but advance 5-4 overall, securing their spot in the 2024/2025 Copa del Rey final.

Ferran Torres’ game-winning goal in the second leg added to Diego Simeone’s team’s suffering as Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid by the same total score.

Barcelona, the most successful team in the Copa del Rey with 31 titles, are playing in their first final since defeating Athletic Bilbao in 2021. Real Madrid, with 20 Copa championships, are appearing in their second final in three seasons, having defeated Osasuna in 2023.

This El Clasico could set the tone for the exciting La Liga title race, in which both teams are locked in, in addition to being about trophies.

And El-Classicos are not usually decided by form. Anything could come to decide this fixture.

Team news

Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Alejandro Balde, Robert Lewandowski, Marc Casadó, Marc Bernal (out). Ter Stegen, after a long-term injury, returns to the team.

Real Madrid Outs & Doubts: Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Eduardo Camavinga (out), David Alaba, Ferland Mendy (doubt). Recent reports have suggested that Ferland Mendy would eventually be passed as fit. Mbappe, too, has been integrated back into the team after limping off during the second leg of the UCL clash against Arsenal.

Possible line-ups

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Martín; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Ferran

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Rüdiger, García; Modric, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinicius

Predictions

As hinted earlier, a team’s form does not factor into their chances in a game like the El Clásico. However, it is still hard to see the Los Blancos edge past the Blaugranes in this one, as the latter would be hoping to mount a momentum ahead of a crucial UCL semi-final against Inter Milan a couple of days later.

So, it could be a 2 – 1 win for Barcelona.