A place in the Spanish Super Cup final will be at stake when Athletic Bilbao take on Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Athletic are featuring in the semi-finals as the Copa del Rey holders, while the Blaugrana are competing in the Super Cup courtesy of last season's second-placed finish.
Match preview
© Imago
Athletic are competing in the four-team format for the third time after achieving glory in last season's Copa del Rey.
Los Leones prevailed in a penalty shootout in April's final against Mallorca to lift the Copa del Rey for the first time in 40 years
Athletic will travel to Saudi Arabia with hopes of winning their fourth Spanish Super Cup and their second in the four-team format after clinching the trophy in 2021.
Ernesto Valverde's side will head into Wednesday's semi-final on the back of a positive run of form, having avoided defeat in each of their previous 15 competitive matches, including six wins and four draws in 10 league games to leave them in fourth position and just two points adrift of third-placed Barcelona.
While they may be in fine form, Athletic were made to work hard in the first match of their Copa del Rey defence against fourth-tier Logrones, with Los Leones prevailing on penalties after being held to a goalless draw in 120 minutes.
Athletic will now turn their focus to Wednesday's semi-final, and while they may have claimed an extra-time win over Barcelona in last season's Copa del Rey, they have not beaten the Blaugrana in regulation time since recording a 1-0 win in February 2020.
© Imago
Like Athletic, Barcelona successfully negotiated a Copa del Rey game against a lower-league opponent, although they made much easier work of their clash against Barbastro than the Basque side did in their round-of-32 tie against Logrones.
Robert Lewandowski netted a brace alongside goals from Eric Garcia and Pablo Torre to fire Barcelona to a commanding 4-0 victory over the fourth-tier side.
The Blaugrana would have been relieved to avoid any slip-ups in the Copa del Rey tie, especially after they went into the winter break on the back of a poor run of form in La Liga, winning just one of their final seven league games of 2024 (D2, L4) - a significant contrast to a side that began the campaign with 11 wins in 12 La Liga matches (L1).
As a result of that poor form, Hansi Flick's side are now sitting in third position in the league standings - three points adrift of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand, and five points away from leaders Real Madrid.
Barcelona will try to get their league campaign back on track when they face Getafe on January 18, but first, they will head to Saudi Arabia with hopes of claiming their 15th Spanish Super Cup and their second in the four-team format.
The Catalan giants may be able to draw inspiration from the fact that they have prevailed in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals in the last two seasons, beating Real Betis on penalties in 2023 before recording a 2-0 victory over Osasuna in last season's final four.
Team News
© Imago
Barcelona have included Dani Olmo and Pau Victor in their travelling party despite the ongoing registration issues affecting the two players.
As a result, it is currently unclear whether the Blaugrana will find a solution to make Olmo and Victor available for Wednesday's semi-final.
Hector Fort and Andreas Christensen are likely to feature on the bench against Athletic after recovering from their respective injuries, although there is some doubt surrounding Ferran Torres's fitness.
Lamine Yamal is also set to return to the squad after missing the last two matches with an ankle injury, but the 17-year-old may not be risked from the start due to his limited training time.
Flick is set to make several changes to the side that started the win over Barbastro, with Inaki Pena, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Gavi and Raphinha all set to come into the starting lineup.
Yeray Alvarez, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Oihan Sancet have all been struggling with injury issues and will have to be assessed by Athletic's medical staff ahead of Wednesday's semi-final.
Valverde is set to make several changes to his side after using Saturday's Copa del Rey tie as an opportunity to give playing time to some of the fringe members of his squad.
Unai Simon, Andoni Gorosabel, Dani Vivian and Yuri Berchiche are among those who are set to come into the lineup for Wednesday's semi-final clash.
Benat Prados and Mikel Jauregizar are in contention to start in midfield, while Nico Williams and Inaki Williams are expected to return to Athletic's flanks.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche; Jauregizar, Prados; I. Williams, Berenguer, N. Williams; Guruzeta
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Raphinha, Gavi, Fermin; Lewandowski
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Barcelona
Barcelona may have swept past Barbastro in the Copa del Rey, but they still have much to prove after losing four of their last seven matches against La Liga opposition, and with that in mind, we think that they may fall short against an Athletic side that have won seven of their last nine competitive matches in regulation time.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
