Spanish Super Cup: Madrid derby to kick things off, Barcelona defend title

Real Madrid come into the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with plenty of momentum. They're joint top in the La Liga standings alongside surprise package Girona. Their city rivals, Atletico Madrid, meanwhile are undergoing a slump. The Diego Simeone-coached side are fifth in the league table, 10 points adrift of Real Madrid and Girona.They will meet in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday in first of three matches over the course of next four weeks. After the Super Cup, the city rivals will clash again on 18 January in the Copa del Rey Round of 16 and then on 4 February in La Liga.“I don't really like playing against Atletico because it's a very complicated team,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday. “But they probably think the same thing over there. We are two very strong teams and it's always a tough matchup for both sides.”Real Madrid vs Atletico MadridReal Madrid have won their last five matches and are on a 19 match unbeaten streak. Their only loss this season, incidentally, came against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano. Alvaro Morata's brace saw off Los Blancos 3-1 in September.Real Madrid are without some of their main players because of long-term injuries, including goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, central defenders Eder Militao and David Alaba. Young Turkish international Arda Guler made his debut in a Copa del Rey match this past weekend and could get more minutes in Saudi Arabia. Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham are set to lead Madrid’s attack.Atletico Madrid had won 20 games in a row at home across all competition to tie a club record. That streak ended with a 3-3 draw against Getafe in the league in December.“For us it's exciting to play against Madrid,” Simeone said. “It's an amazing rival. We are anxious about it.”After that win over Madrid, Rojiblancos went on a marauding run that saw them reach the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League and close to the top spot in the league. But they've hit speedbumps recently, winning only two of their last five games.One such loss came at Girona, the joint-top team on points at the season's halfway mark. The 4-3 loss dropped Atleti to fifth place and outside the Champions League places for next season.Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann enters the game level with Luis Aragonés as the club’s all-time top scorer with 173 goals.Barcelona vs OsasunaThe other semi-final will be played between Barcelona and Osasuna on Thursday. Barca finished league champions last season and Osasuna were runners-up in the Copa del Rey.Xavi’s team enters the tournament under pressure after a series of lackluster performances that drew jeers from home fans.In their most recent outing, the Catalan club edged fourth-division club Barbastro 3-2 in the Copa del Rey. They were coming off hard-fought wins against last-place Almeria and mid-table Las Palmas in the Spanish league, and prior to it, they hadn’t won in three straight games in all competitions.Barcelona are third in the Spanish league, seven points behind Madrid and Girona.Osasuna, the surprise Copa finalists last season, have also struggled recently. They've won only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions, and needed extra time to eliminate lower-division club Castellon in the Copa on Sunday.Osasuna are 12th in the Spanish league. They haven't finished lower than 11th since returning to the first division in 2019.FormatThe Super Cup’s new “final four” format sees the top two teams in the Spanish league last season and the last two Copa del Rey finalists make the trip.Winners under the new format:2019-20: Real Madrid (beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 (0-0 after extra time) on penalties)2020-21: Athletic Bilbao (beat Barcelona 3-2 after extra time)2021-22: Real Madrid (beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0)2022-23: Barcelona (beat Real Madrid 3-1)Spanish Super Cup FixturesReal Madrid vs Atletico Madrid - 10 January (11 January) at 12:30 AM ISTBarcelona vs Osasuna - 11 January (12 January) aft 12:30 AM ISTFinal: Real Madrid/Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona/Osasuna on 14 January (15 January) at 12:30 AM IST