Real Madrid and Valencia will lock horns in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening, with a spot in the final of the Spanish Super Cup on offer for the two La Liga sides.
Los Blancos qualified for this stage of this competition by winning the 2022-23 La Liga title, while Valencia are present in the final four due to making last season's Copa del Rey final.
Match preview
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Real Madrid are the second-most successful side in the history of the Spanish Super Cup, lifting the trophy on 12 occasions, including last season, when they beat Barcelona in the semi-finals of the competition before overcoming Athletic Bilbao four days later.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have the chance to secure this trophy once again, as they qualified for the final four by winning last season's La Liga title, and a victory on Wednesday would see them take on either Barcelona or Real Betis in the final of the competition on Sunday.
Los Blancos will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Villarreal in La Liga, with Gerard Moreno's penalty proving to be the difference between the two sides, and the reigning champions are now three points behind leaders Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Sunday night.
Real Madrid will face Villarreal again in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey on January 17 before taking on Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad in their final two league games before the end of the month.
Los Blancos have won their last three matches against Valencia, including a 4-1 victory when the two sides last locked horns in January 2022; the pair also met in the Spanish Super Cup in January 2020, with the capital outfit running out 3-1 winners in the semi-finals of the competition.
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Valencia, meanwhile, have only actually won the Spanish Super Cup on one occasion, lifting the trophy in 1999 by recording a 4-3 victory over Barcelona in the two-legged affair.
Los Che have been runners-up on three further occasions in 2002, 2004 and 2008, but their confidence will have been dented ahead of this match due to their 1-0 home defeat to struggling Cadiz on Friday.
Gennaro Gattuso's side are currently 11th in the La Liga table, boasting 19 points from their opening 16 matches, which has left them eight points off the top six.
Valencia have again struggled for consistency in the league this season, losing seven of their 16 matches, but they are still present in the Copa del Rey, preparing to take on Sporting Gijon in the last-16 stage of the competition on January 17.
Los Che will be the underdogs heading into Wednesday's affair, and they have only actually managed to beat Real Madrid on one occasion since early 2019.
Los Blancos were far from their best in Saturday's loss to Villarreal, though, and Ancelotti's side have not hit top form since returning to action following the 2022 World Cup.
Team News
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Real Madrid were missing three players for Saturday's clash with Villarreal; Mariano Diaz was absent due to an ankle issue, while muscular problems ruled both Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola out.
The trio are back in the squad for this match, but Los Blancos have been hit with a fresh double injury blow, with David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni both out of the contest due to calf problems.
Alaba is believed to have picked up the issue against Villarreal, while Tchouameni is thought to have suffered the problem during Monday's training session.
As a result, Eder Militao should move back inside to partner Antonio Rudiger in the middle of the defence, while Federico Valverde could play in central midfield on Wednesday, with Rodrygo joining Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior in the final third of the field.
As for Valencia, Jaume Domenech has made the trip with his teammates to provide support, but the goalkeeper remains unavailable for selection through injury.
On-loan Barcelona midfielder Nico Gonzalez is also on the sidelines with a fractured foot, while Samu Castillejo has undergone surgery on a fractured wrist, so he will miss out on the contest.
There will be changes from the side that started against Cadiz, with Andre Almeida and Justin Kluivert potentially coming into the starting XI.
Edinson Cavani should retain his spot at centre-forward, though, while Samuel Lino is also expected to feature in an attacking position for Gattuso's side.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Kroos, Valverde, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Comert, Diakhaby, Gaya; Musah, Guillamon, Almeida; Kluivert, Cavani, Lino
We say: Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia
Real Madrid will enter this match off the back of a defeat, while they will be missing two influential players on Wednesday through injury. Valencia are more than capable of picking up a positive result here, and we are expecting a close game, but Los Blancos should have enough to navigate their way to Sunday's final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
