CUP FINAL PREVIEW | A new cup final matchup with the same passion as ever

To paraphrase the poet Ángel González, for a cup final to bring together the Basques and the Balearics has taken a long time and then another long time. More than 120 years after the birth of the most historical tournament in Spanish football, this final brings together Athletic Club and RCD Mallorca.

Despite the match being between two previous cup winners and neither team being a stranger to reaching the latter stages over recent decades, for the first time these two teams will battle it out in a cup final to make their dreams come true on the perfectly green grass of La Cartuja, in Seville.

Two hours of surprises and musical entertainment will precede the start of the match at La Cartuja de Sevilla.

From 22:00 (Spanish peninsular time, live on La1 and with comprehensive coverage on RFEF official media), the Seville coliseum, with its packed stands, will put on a feast of Spanish football and see the streets of Seville dyed in the colours of the teams. The final will be a celebration of sportsmanship before one of the two sets of fans can celebrate their team lifting the trophy long into the Andalusian night.

Ernesto Valverde and Javier Aguirre's side have similarities in terms of the strong defensive organisation of their teams. Despite this,  it is the Basque side who are the favourites owing to their historical strength in the cup, greater recent experience in finals, the superior individual quality of some of their players and the fact that they are in a stronger position in the league standings

Click here to listen to the Athletic Club and RCD Mallorca stars’ comments during the pre-match press conference in the lead up to the final.

However, none of what has come before will matter once José Luis Munuera Montero blows his whistle in the Andalusian capital and the decisive first few minutes set the tone for the final.  Athletic are likely to be eager to go out looking for an early lead, relying on their ability to win the ball back high up in their opponents' half and exploiting the pace of their wingers and with the Williams brothers (Iñaki and Nico) as a constant threat.

Defender Yeray Álvarez is the main doubt for the Lions, with Agirrezabala aiming to be ready to start in goal against a Mallorca side that will try to play their way into the game and stay alive in the tie until the final minute, just as Aguirre's side managed to do against Real Sociedad at the Anoeta.

The referee José Luis Munuera Montero from Jaén will be the head official for the match.

The Mexican coach, who returns to a cup final almost twenty years since his last appearance, has Omar Mascarell as his main injury doubt, in addition to Slovak defender Martin Valjent, whose compatriot Dominik Greif, a hero in Guipuzcoa, will provide protection to the Balearic goal.

Two hours of music and entertainment at La Cartuja will precede the start of a final that will be the 68th different match up in terms of the names of the teams in the final in a tournament that is already over 120 years old, but which on this spring Saturday in Seville will once again make us feel like dreamy children.

CONSULT THE COMPLETE MATCH INFORMATION PACK FOR THE GRAND FINAL OF THE COPA DEL REY