The second week of the year arrives and with it the first title of 2026 in Spanish football. FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club They will seek to win the trophy of the Spanish Super Cupa tournament held in Saudi Arabia for the sixth year.
The four contenders arrive at very different times, with a Barça on the rise that defends the title after winning the final of the last edition against Real Madrid (2-5). The culés will face Athletic Club on Wednesday in the first semi-final, while the second will host the Madrid derby between Atlético and Real Madrid on Thursday.
Barça arrives as favorite after chaining eight consecutive victories
FC Barcelona is the king of the competition. The Catalan team has 15 Spanish Super Cup titlesthe last one achieved last season. The team of Hansi Flick He is not only the favorite because he is the current champion, but also because of the current form he is going through.
The culé team adds eight consecutive victories among all competitions, the last four without conceding a single goal. The Barcelona cast has not lost since November 25when they lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League.
The long-suffering victory against Espanyol It showed that Barça is in a sweet moment and that they are winning despite not dominating all the matches. At the top he bills with ease and at the back he has Joan Garciaan insurance under the sticks that is growing by leaps and bounds.
Added to the great moment is that Flick can now count on almost the entire squad. Only Gavi and Christensen, with long-term injuries, will miss the match in Arabia. A venue that Barça is getting a taste for.
After falling in the semifinals in the first two editions (2020 and 2022), the Catalan club has won two of the last three (2023 and 2025). Athletic will be the first obstacle on their way to revalidating the title.
Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso, under examination
Real Madrid seems to have emerged from the crisis it was going through thanks to its four consecutive victories. However, the Spanish Super Cup has long been seen as the litmus test for the whites and their coach, Xabi Alonso.
The triumphs against Alavés, Talavera, Seville and especially the win against Betis They seem to have largely put out the fire caused at the Bernabéu after a disastrous month of November.
Despite the victories, The whites continue to leave doubts in their game and the first tournament of the year is presented as a definitive test to discover if the merengue team is progressing adequately or if, on the contrary, it continues to be unreliable.
In front of you you will first have a Atlético de Madrid that dealt him the first big blow of the season in the Metropolitano league match (5-2). Madrid are still waiting for Mbappéserious doubt for the semifinal and also for the entire tournament, and holds on to a Gonzalo who emerged as the great white hope scoring a hat-trick against Betis.
Whites are not bad at Arabia. Since the Spanish Super Cup is played in the Arabian Peninsula, they have always reached the finalwinning on three occasions (2020, 2022 and 2024) and being runners-up on the other two (2023 and 2025).
The last time the merengue team was crowned, Vinícius was the great protagonist of the final with a hat-trick against Barcelona. Times have changed for the Brazilian, who is not going through his best moment and has accumulated 18 games without scoring between Real Madrid and the ‘Canarinha’ team. The ‘7’ will try to redeem himself in a tournament where he achieved one of his best performances as a footballer just two years ago.
Atlético, which has not finished taking off, is the only one that has not won with this format
The trajectory of Atlético de Madrid So far this season is full of ups and downs. When it seems that the team is going to take off, its rise is slowed. The last puncture came this Sunday in the Royal Arenawhere Simeone’s team could not overcome Real Sociedad despite taking the lead on the scoreboard with a goal from Sorloth (1-1).
The red and white team had just won four games in a rowbut he slipped in the first commitment of the year. They even managed to lose in the final stretch after the Txuri-Urdin team forgave several chances. Your star, Julian Alvarezarrives in one of his worst moments since he became an Atlético de Madrid player. ‘The Spider’ has only one goal in the last seven games.
To the Argentine’s irregular performance has been added the doubt of Pablo Barrioswho had to be replaced due to injury in the San Sebastián duel and who has a difficult time getting minutes in the tournament. That of the midfielder would be a very sensitive loss for Simeone’s pupils.
Among the positives, the red and white cast has recovered a great version of Soon and has seen how Mark Pubill He has taken a step forward in the center back position. Besides, Giuliano Simeone He showed against Real that he is one of the most incisive players on the squad.
The colchoneros arrive at a tournament that they are not good at anything. They have won it twice, the last in 2014, and are the only one of the four teams participating in this edition that has not won the title in this format. Last season it was not part of the competition and in 2024 it was eliminated against Real Madrid in the semifinals.
An Athletic in low hours wants to make a splash
El Athletic Club Traveling to Saudi Arabia is not at its best. The team led by Ernesto Valverde has only won one of his last five gameshis visit in the Copa del Rey against the Ourense CFFirst Federation team.
The technician has not been able to find the key so far and The Bilbao team is very far from the solid version that he showed last season and that allowed him to qualify for the Champions League.
Sancet and the Williams brothersits main stars, are far from their best level. The playmaker has not scored since August 25, Nico has not seen the net since November 29 and Iñaki has not scored since October 4. The only attacker who arrives after hitting in front of goal is Turn aroundwho managed to save a point for ‘the lions’ in the last league match against Osasuna (1-1).
The Basque team has never managed to win in Arabia, but they have has managed to become champion with this format. It was in 2021, when the pandemic forced the tournament to be held in Andalusia. The team then led by Marcelino defeated Real Madrid in the semifinals at La Rosaleda and FC Barcelona in the final at La Cartuja.
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