FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid 2017 Spanish Super Cup 2nd leg Preview

Now I may be biased but if you watched the 1st leg between Real Madrid and Barcelona it appears that these two powerhouses are going in opposite directions performance wise. Real Madrid appear to be getting stronger, everyday looking levels above any other club in the sport at the moment. Barcelona on the other hand, have a lot of work to do after the departure of Neymar Jr.

Los Blancos handled their business at the Camp Nou by bagging three important away goals with a 1–3 result, which should be enough for them to secure the Super Cup title unless Barça can recreate the same magic when they were down to PSG in the Champions League, without Neymar.

Cristiano Ronaldo will miss today’s match due to receiving a 5 match ban that was upheld today by the Spanish FA. Look for manager Zinedine Zidane to tinker with his squad and play the “B-Squad” so he can keep his stars fresh for their first La Liga match of the 2017–2018 campaign against Deportivo this Sunday.

It’s a safe bet that we will see Lucas Vazquez, Theo Hernandez, Marco Asensio and Nacho featured in the XI.

Real Madrid predicted XI: Navas, Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Theo, Casemiro, Modric, Asensio, Vazquez, Bale, Benzema.

As for the Cules, Ernesto Valverde stated in his press conference that he will put out his best squad to win the title. He will be without Andrés Iniesta, Thomas Vermaelen and Rafinha due to injury while Munir, Douglas, Arda Turan, Marlon, and Samper have been left out by the Blaugrana manager. We should expect to see an appearance from their recent signing Semedo in the XI today.

Barcelona predicted XI: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Denis Suarez, Deulofeu, Messi, Suarez.