Barça and Athletic Bilbao kick off the battle for the Super Cup
Barcelona enter the Spanish Super Cup semifinal on a stunning eight-game winning streak — but Athletic Bilbao's Williams brothers are ready to test their injury-hit defense.
Supercup
Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao will face each other in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup. The match will kick off at 9 p.m. at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah. The winner will face either Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid in the final.
Barcelona arrives for the match in exceptional form with eight consecutive wins in all competitions. Over the weekend, the Blaugranas beat Espanyol 2-0 in their last La Liga match, and before that they defeated Villarreal by the same score. In the Copa del Rey, they beat Guadalajara 2-0, and in La Liga, they crushed Osasuna 2-0. In the Champions League, Barça recorded a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Athletic Bilbao has shown inconsistent results with one win, two losses, and two draws in their last five matches. The Basques drew 1-1 with Osasuna, lost 2-1 to Espanyol, beat Ourense 1-0 in the Copa del Rey, lost 2-0 to Celta, and drew 0-0 with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Barcelona will have to cope without several key players for this important match. Defenders Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo remain sidelined due to injuries, but coach Hans-Dieter Flick will be able to count on young Pau Kubarsi in central defense. Young talent Gavi is also still recovering from a long-term injury and will not be available. Lamine Yamal is not in optimal form, but he can cause a lot of problems for the opponent.
Athletic Bilbao has been seriously affected by injuries, especially in the defensive line. Experienced players Yeray Alvarez, Aymeric Laporte, and Yuri Berchiche are out of action, which poses serious challenges for coach Ernesto Valverde. The brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams are expected to be the main threats to the Catalans in the upcoming match.
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