MATCH PREVIEW | A battle between experience and excitement in Riyadh
FC Barcelona, the team with the most Super Cup titles, face debutants CA Osasuna for a place in the final of the tournament.
The Spanish Super Cup got off to a flying start with the eight-goal thriller of a Madrid derby, but this Thursday the action continues with an unprecedented duel between the team with the most titles and a debutant in the competition.
The reigning champions, with fourteen Super Cup trophies up their sleeves, will be looking to repeat their success in the competition by reaching the final, while CA Osasuna will be hoping to upset all the odds by snatching what would be a famous victory for the team from Navarra.
Click here to listen to the comments made by FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna players during the semi-final preview.
Both Xavi Hernandez and his counterpart Jagoba Arrasate agreed that FC Barcelona are favourites going into a match in which Pedri could make his return from injury but in which the Catalans with have to do without the participation of the central defender Iñigo Martinez, Ter Stegen, Marcos Alonso and Gavi, while there are doubts about whether Cancelo will be back in time for the match.
Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz will referee the game, assisted on the sidelines by Eliana Fernández González and Fabián Blanco Rodríguez, with Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias as fourth official and Carlos del Cerro Grande as video assistant referee.
Osasuna, Copa del Rey runners-up, will not be able to count on the services of one of their main attacking threats, the Argentinian Luis Ezequiel Chimy Ávila, although that could be compensated by the fact that the team from Navarra are almost overflowing with enthusiasm and motivation ahead of a historic fixture that could upset the bookies.
From 20:00, Spanish peninsular time, with Movistar Plus+ providing live TV coverage, as well as comprehensive coverage provided across the RFEF’s social media, Barça and Osasuna will be looking to secure their place in the showpiece final. Yet more drama to an already breathtaking tournament that is becoming the envy of world football as the best way to start the footballing year.