Five Things To Look Out For In The Spanish Super Cup
Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the Spanish Super Cup for
the first time since 2012 when the pair lock horns in the two-legged
affair on Sunday 13 August and Wednesday 16 August respectively.
Barcelona’s Copa del Rey success last season means that they will go
in search of a 13th Spanish Super Cup, while Real Madrid’s La Liga
victory will see Los Blancos attempt to win the domestic cup competition
for the first time since 2012.
The first leg will take place at Camp Nou on Sunday night, before
Barcelona make the trip to Real Madrid three days later. It is not a
trophy high on the list of priorities for either club, but El Clasicos
are always important, and both sets of supporters will be desperate to
land a blow to their rivals ahead of the new La Liga campaign.
It promises to be a mouthwatering clash across at least 180 minutes
of football, and with that in mind, we have picked out five things to
look out for in the Spanish Super Cup…
How Barcelona line up in attack without Neymar
What looked to be an impossible deal went through this summer, with
Neymar swapping Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record
move. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have lost their amigo in the final
third of the field, and it remains to be seen who fills the left-sided
attacking position for Barcelona this season.
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho or Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele
could yet arrive at Camp Nou this summer, but it seems unlikely that
either will join in time to be cleared to play in either leg of this
particular fixture.
Gerard Deulofeu was given the nod alongside Messi and Suarez for
Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Chapecoense in the Joan Gamper Trophy on
Monday, but Denis Suarez replaced the former Everton attacker at the
interval.
Arda Turan is another option, but the Turkish international seems
destined to return to Galatasaray this summer, while Paco Alcacer has
previously looked lost in a wide position. It will be Suarez and Messi
plus one more against Real Madrid, with a number of players hoping to be
given a starting position.
Who starts at right-back for Barcelona
Aleix Vidal only started five league games for Barcelona last season,
and it did appear likely that the 27-year-old would be heading for the
exit this summer. A change of manager has brought the Spaniard a fresh
chance, however, and it seems likely that he will start the season as
Barcelona’s first-choice right-back.
In truth, the Spanish giants have not yet managed to replace Dani
Alves, who left under strange circumstances in the summer of 2016. Sergi
Roberto was the club’s right-back for long spells of last season, but
the midfielder-turned-defender struggled against the bigger teams.
Vidal was actually a flying winger for Sevilla, but the Spain
international has operated at full-back since moving to Camp Nou.
Despite joining Barcelona in June 2015, he has only actually represented
the club on 26 occasions after not being cleared to make his debut
until January 2016, coupled with last season’s struggles.
Nelson Semedo has arrived in a big-money move from Benfica this summer, but the 23-year-old might well take time
to settle, and it does appear that Vidal will be given the nod to start
against Real Madrid, and indeed the new La Liga campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s role over the two legs
Having represented Portugal at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia,
Cristiano Ronaldo did not feature for Real Madrid during pre-season. He
actually only linked-up with Los Blancos last week, but was deemed fit enough to play a part in the UEFA Super Cup against his former club Manchester United on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese came off the bench in the 83rd minute of the contest
as he turned out for Real Madrid for the first time since last season’s
Champions League final. The forward is not exactly a player that
struggles physically, although Zinedine Zidane will be wary of giving
the 32-year-old too many minutes in quick succession.
In all likelihood, Ronaldo will again be on the bench on Sunday night
as he builds up his fitness, before potentially starting the second leg
at the Bernabeu on Wednesday ahead of next weekend’s La Liga opener
away to Deportivo La Coruna.
Ronaldo only needs two more goals to draw level with Alfredo di
Stefano on the all-time El Clasico scoring list. The Spanish Super Cup
is not a priority competition for Real Madrid, but the Portugal captain
will be desperate to play a part.
Real Madrid’s formation
Real Madrid expect to be without Luka Modric for the first leg of the
Super Cup after the Croatian was sent off in the second leg of the
trophy’s 2014 edition against Atletico Madrid. There is some confusion
surrounding the ruling, although it seems likely that Modric will not be
available for the clash at Camp Nou.
Casemiro and Toni Kroos will both start for Los Blancos, but it
remains to be seen whether there is a midfield role for Mateo Kovacic or
indeed new signing Dani Ceballos. Zidane could also drop Isco into a
midfield position, allowing Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and one more to
start in the final third of the field.
It would not be a surprise to see Ronaldo handed a spot in the XI,
although Marco Asensio is also pushing for a position in the team, and a
switch to a 4-3-3, having played 4-3-1-2 in the UEFA Super Cup against
United, is a likely outcome.
Ernesto Valverde leading Barcelona into new era
Luis Enrique was not without his criticism at Barcelona, but the
Spaniard led the Catalan giants to two La Liga titles, three Copa del
Rey crowns and one Champions League during his three years in charge of
the first team.
The 47-year-old announced that he would step away from Barcelona in
the latter stages of last season, and Ernesto Valverde is now the man in
charge at Camp Nou. The 53-year-old started his managerial career back
in 2002 with Athletic Bilbao B, but despite boasting a wealth of
experience, this is his first elite club.
Valverde, of course, represented Barcelona as a player, winning the
Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup during two years at the club. He
knows what the Barcelona board and indeed supporters expect, but it
remains to be seen how well Valverde adapts to the added pressure that
this managerial position will bring.
Valverde led Bilbao to their first trophy in 31 years when the Basque
club overcame Barcelona in the 2015 Spanish Super Cup. It has been a
difficult start to his Camp Nou managerial career after losing Neymar,
but the head coach must hit the ground running as Barcelona look to
return to the top of Spain and indeed Europe.
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