Overview
Barcelona extended their winning streak to 8 consecutive wins in all competitions after defeating Espanyol 2-0 in La Liga. Hansi Flick's team continued to hold the top spot, creating a 4-point gap with Real Madrid in second place.
The Catalan giant has actually not lost in the domestic league since the El Clasico at the end of October. With his current form, Barcelona is considered a strong candidate to overcome Athletic Bilbao, thereby winning a ticket to the final, where they will face Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid.
As is known, Barcelona has won the Spanish Super Cup 15 times and is the defending champion, after crushing Real Madrid 5-2 in the final last year. On that journey, they also defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the semi-finals.
Barca is aiming for a "complete" domestic season with the goal of winning three domestic titles, but in the Champions League, they still have a lot to do to go deep. Currently, Flick's team is ranked 15th in the overall standings.
In head-to-head matches, Barcelona once beat Athletic 4-0 in a La Liga encounter at the beginning of the season. Notably, they have only conceded 1 goal in the last 5 matches against the Basque representative.
Athletic Bilbao also understands the "method" of success in the Spanish Super Cup. They have been crowned 3 times, most recently in 2021, and reached the final in 2022.
The Lions entered the semi-finals after a 1-1 draw with Osasuna, in a context where their first half of the season was considered quite difficult.
Ernesto Valverde's team is currently ranked 8th in La Liga, 14 points behind Atletico Madrid (4th). In all competitions, their only victory in their last 5 matches was against Ourense CF in the Copa del Rey.
Athletic Bilbao also participates in the Champions League this season, but the current campaign is quite heavy as they dropped to 28th place, 2 points behind the group with a play-off spot.
Even so, Athletic still has historical footholds in the Super Cup. They have won 3 of their last 8 encounters with Barcelona in this tournament, including a 3-2 victory in the January 2021 final.
Personnel situation
Barcelona may welcome positive news as Ronald Araujo is about to return to the squad. The Uruguayan international has just reappeared on the training ground with the first team after a period of rest to prioritize mental health.
In the context of a very high team performance, Barca has almost no changes in force. Andreas Christensen (knee injury) and Gavi (knee injury) are definite absences for the Spanish Super Cup match.
In midfield, Eric Garcia is showing impressive form, so Pedri can be pushed higher. In attack, Marcus Rashford is likely to be on the bench, opening up opportunities for Lamine Yamal and Raphinha to take on the two wings.
Robert Lewandowski is trying to start as a central striker, but most predict Ferran Torres will start from the beginning.
On the other side, Athletic Bilbao entered this great battle without a series of key players. Yeray Alvarez (suspended), Yuri Berchiche (shoulder), Aymeric Laporte (muscle), Benat Prados (knee), Unai Egiluz (knee) and Maroan Sannadi (knee) all could not participate.
Nico Williams is expected to start on one wing, while his brother Inaki Williams operates in the opposite corridor.
In attack, Gorka Guruzeta just scored against Osasuna in the most recent match, and that goal could help him keep a starting spot.
Expected lineup:
J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde, E. Garcia, De Jong, Raphinha, Pedri, Yamal, Torres.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon, Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Boiro, Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar, I. Williams, Sancet, N. Williams, Guruzeta.
The match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao takes place at 2:00 AM on January 8 (Vietnam time).
