Real Madrid vs Athletic Club predictions and match preview for Sunday’s Supercopa Final. Read on for expert analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the first trophy of the season is decided.
| Date | Sunday 16th January 2022 |
| Kick-Off | 19:30 (local time) |
| Stadium | King Fahd International Stadium |
| Competition | Supercopa |
Real Madrid vs Athletic Club Preview
The Supercopa Final takes place in Saudi Arabia this weekend and it sees Real Madrid face off against Athletic Club. Both clubs were victorious in eventful Semi-Finals in the week and will have their eyes on the first domestic silverware of the new season.
Real Madrid will be the clear favourites and they might just be eyeing up a clean sweep of the domestic trophies in Spain this season. It’s rare that one team in LaLiga has looked so superior to the rest but that has been the case this term with Real Madrid, although there have still been plenty of matches where they’ve been pushed all the way.
That was certainly the case in the Semi-Final against Barcelona. While Los Blancos enjoyed periods of superiority, the Catalans were a real threat and took the game into Extra Time thanks to Ansu Fati’s 83rd minute equaliser. As they have done so often this season, Madrid still found a way to win though, with Fede Valverde coming off the bench to seal a 3-2 victory, Real Madrid’s 5th straight win in Clasicos.
They will be anticipating another tough game here though against an Athletic side that they’ve already met twice since the start of last month. Athletic were unfortunate to lose 1-0 at the Bernabeu and again had more attempts than their opponents in the reverse meeting at San Mames but still came out on the losing side with Karim Benzema scoring two very early goals in a 2-1 win.
Athletic did beat Los Blancos on their way to winning last season’s Supercopa though and were victorious against Atleti on Thursday in the Semi-Finals of this season’s competition. They came from behind to win 2-1 with Nico Williams scoring the winner. The 19 year old is a really exciting prospect and is certainly staking a claim for a more regular starting berth having scored 3 of his team’s last 4 goals in all competitions.
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 5 Real Madrid Wins, 1 Athletic Win.
- Athletic’s only result in their last 6 clashes with Madrid came via a 2-1 win in the Supercopa Semis last season.
- There were three subsequent league meetings in 2021 with Los Blancos winning the lot by a single goal.
- They completed the double this season with 1-0 and 2-1 wins over Athletic in December.
Team News
Dani Carvajal and David Alaba are significant absentees for Real Madrid with Nacho and Lucas Vazquez expected to come in. Rodrygo may also get the nod ahead of Marco Asensio on the right flank.
Unai Nunez, Unai Vencedor, Asier Villalibre and Ander Capa are missing for Athletic. Nico Williams will be hoping to dislodge Alex Berenguer from the starting eleven.
Possible Lineups
Real Madrid vs Athletic Club Predictions
Score Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Athletic Club
If the previous two meetings are anything to go by we can expect a really good contest with chances at both ends of the pitch. Athletic have shown enough to suggest they are capable of upsetting Los Blancos but overall you have to fancy Madrid to be the more clinical team again and get their hands on the first trophy of the Spanish football season.
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Mark Sochon is an experienced football writer and editor of LaLiga Expert. Based in Madrid, he has covered La Liga and Spanish football for many years. He also covers Spanish and European football for Goal and Betfred, while his work has previously been published by the Guardian and World Soccer.