Real Madrid – Barcelona

Real and Barcelona should be delighted with goals in the battle for the trophy

On Sunday, January 15, Real Madrid and Barcelona will face Saudi Arabia in the Super King's Cup. The bookmakers single out the Catalan club as a slight favourite in the line-up, although both teams have struggled mightily to get past the semi-final stage of the tournament. Once again, Real Madrid are unconvinced. In the match against Valencia, Ancelotti fielded a near-optimal squad. In the end, it came down to a draw, and the Mice managed to hold on even in extra time. So far, there have been few positive moments for Real Madrid since the World Cup resumption. The only exception has been goals from Karim Benzema. The Frenchman is gradually beginning to resemble himself from last season. Real beat Valladolid in La Liga with great difficulty, then agonised with a club from the fourth league in the Copa del Rey and lost to Villarreal on business. Fears that the World Cup will have a negative impact on the ageing team are borne out. So far, Real are unable to dominate and win on class, as they often did before the break. Adding to the coach's headache is the situation with the edge defenders. Vazquez and Nacho were on the flanks against Valencia. Alaba is injured and now Vazquez is out on sick leave. Lucas will definitely not play in the final. For Barcelona, there is plenty of room on the flanks, as the opponents will be considerably slower than the Catalan club's frisky wingers. Xavi's situation is also far from ideal. Barcelona lost two points in the derby against Espanyol and further failed to convince in the following matches. The club had to retreat from their attacking style in Madrid against Atletico Madrid. At the same time, the positive result smoothed things out. The battle against Betis turned out to be very bright. It is important to understand that the Cucumbers are not much inferior to Real Madrid at the moment and are definitely superior to Valencia. The team can be considered the third-fourth strongest team in Spain. Barcelona have looked bright in some places in attack, but the key disadvantage is the lack of stability, even over the course of a single match. The Catalans suffered setbacks that nearly cost them the final. In the decisive game, the opponents are unlikely to close down. It is logical to expect attacking football. Barcelona will be first-choice, but Real Madrid can create plenty of chances, following the example of Betis. In the first round of La Liga, the opponents scored four goals between them, and they could have scored significantly more. We should expect a similar scenario now. Importantly, the fatigue factor could play a significant role at the end. Real do not have much depth in the squad, while Barcelona will have difficulty recovering due to the heavy calendar. The club had less than three days between games.