With a victory on Sunday, Madrid hopes to tie Barcelona for the 14th victory in the competition. The bitter rivals have faced off in the last two finals, winning one apiece. The defending champions, Los Blancos, will probably never forget their crushing 4-0 loss to the Catalan giants in October.
Barcelona defeated Athletic Club and Madrid defeated Mallorca to get to the Saudi Arabian final, but both teams will be anticipating more difficult matches as bragging rights and trophy wars are contested.
These four pivotal fights could be the difference in El Clasico.
Robert Lewandowski vs. Aurelien Tchouameni
Carlo Ancelotti will need to provide Tchouameni with further encouragement and direction on Sunday, as the seasoned Barcelona attacker is expected to target him given the harm Lewandowski inflicted in the league match.
Robert Lewandowski's goals in the October thrashing of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu were separated by a just two minutes. Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao were severely harmed by the Poland international's movement and aggressiveness, which made him much too much for the Spanish champions to handle on that particular occasion.
David Alaba has not yet returned from a lengthy layoff, and Militao will be out for the rest of the season. Assuming he is well following a head injury, defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni will be expected to contain Lewandowski on Sunday. Although the French international has played center back on a regular basis this season, it is by no means his preferred position.
Pau Cubarsi vs Kylian Mbappe
Most likely, Kylian Mbappe has pushed his debut Clasico to the back of his memory. Madrid's number nine had a terrible night from which he was never able to recover, as he was consistently offside and outplayed by Barcelona's defense. Not till recently, anyway.
In the latter weeks of 2024, Mbappe began to settle into a rhythm, scoring five goals in December to silence critics who were already dismissing the former Paris Saint-Germain star. Though he hasn't played well in Madrid's three games this season, Mbappe's desire for revenge on Sunday gives him hope that his form will continue into the new year.
Pau Cubarsi, 17, who put on a magnificent display to frustrate Mbappe during his Clasico bow, might be the target of that vigor in Jeddah. The teenager is becoming more accustomed to what is expected of such enormous fixtures and has rarely been overwhelmed on the biggest platform.
The World Cup winner is difficult to keep quiet, so Cubarsi will be hoping for another day off. Center-back partner Inigo Martinez, who has been Cubarsi's ideal foil for the majority of the season, will need to provide him with a lot of help
Lamine Yamal vs Ferland Mendy
Mendy outperformed his colleagues in the semi-final triumph over Mallorca, completing more passes and maintaining a clean sheet. Although it was a show that gave him more self-confidence, by the end of the Supercopa final, his ego might be battered and broken.
The 2024–25 campaign has been difficult for Ferland Mendy. The Frenchman lost his starting left-back spot at the end of the previous season due to his poor play for the majority of the season. He will, however, be hoping to start again on Sunday after being put back into the starting lineup for two of Madrid's three games in the new year.
On Sunday night, he will face the ravenous Lamine Yamal, who is 17 years old and made a comeback from injury during the team's victory over Athletic Club in the round of four. After a much-needed recuperation, he looked as sharp as ever and scored on his hour-long comeback.
Back in October, Mendy looked continuously outclassed and gave up four goals in his most recent match against Yamal. Maintaining control over the unrelenting winger is a formidable task that Mendy must accomplish if Madrid is to win the Middle East trophy.
Marc Casado vs Jude Bellingham
After going through an unusually difficult period in the early months of the current season, Jude Bellingham has recovered quickly. A strong force regaining his touch at a pivotal moment in the season as demonstrated by the seven goals in nine games since the start of December.
But things might be different in this installment of the fiercest derby in Europe. Marc Casado, who successfully prevented Bellingham from celebrating in the 4-0 victory earlier this term, will have to shoulder the responsibility. With his superb crunching into challenges and hoovering up the ground, he kept Madrid's midfield threats at bay.
La Bluagrana's lack of defensive midfield presence was apparent, and the Englishman had already made his El Clasico debut by winning both of his La Liga encounters in stoppage time.
It will be an interesting matchup between two young energizers in the engine room, but it is unclear if Casado can do the same against a revitalized Bellingham.
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