Reigning titleholders Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca are seeking a Supercopa de Espana final berth when they meet at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Thursday. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are defending La Liga champions while the Balearic Islanders earned their berth in Saudi Arabia having finished runners-up in the Copa del Rey. Los Blancos already won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in Qatar last month and got 2025 underway with a narrow fightback win away at Valencia before advancing in this edition of the Copa del Rey by easing past Deportiva Minera. Ral have advanced in each of their last three Spanish Super Cup semifinals since 2021 when they lost to fellow final four outfit Athletic Club.
Mallorca are in the Supercopa de Espana having made it to last year’s Copa del Rey final but there will be no repeat having already crashed out of the current edition to minnows Pontevedra. Athletic Club edged the penalty shootout to book their place in Saudi Arabia which denied Los Piratas what could have been a heroic success. Mallorca have played in the Spanish Super Cup twice before and beat Barcelona 3-1 over two legs back in 1998 as well as a 2003 defeat to Real. They have lost three of their last five competitive games which is not ideal coming into this one but they did draw at Son Moix earlier this season which would be enough for at least extra time and possibly even penalties.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 9 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
- Location: King Abdullah Sports City — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Watch: ESPN Deportes
- Odds: Real -275; Draw +380; Mallorca +600
This season so far
Real fought back to beat Valencia despite being down to 10 men after Vinicius Junior’s red card thanks to late Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham goals. Ancelotti’s men are now top of La Liga by two points ahead of Atletico Madrid and five points clear of Barca in third although Atleti have a game in hand. Although Mallorca are the lowest-ranked side in this edition of the Spanish Super Cup, Jagoba Arrasate’s men are sixth in La Liga and challenging for Europe at present. The Copa del Rey might be gone but Athletic Club in fourth are only six points ahead at present.
Team news
Real: Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao remain out while David Alaba is not quite ready to feature despite being in the official squad. Jesus Vallejo was left out after missing the Copa del Rey win over Minera with injury while Vini Jr. is set to be suspended in La Liga after featuring in the Supercopa de Espana this week. Kylian Mbappe should make his first appearance in the Spanish Super Cup with 13 competitive goals to his name so far.
Possible Real XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe.
Mallorca: Samu Costa has travelled despite his recent injury while Antonio Raillo and Antonio Sanchez are also nursing knocks. Arrasate should bring back regular starters Dominik Greif, Pablo Maffeo, Sergi Darder, Cyle Larin and Vedat Muriqi here.
Possible Mallorca XI: Greif; Mafeo, Valjent, Copete, Mojica; Asano, Morlanes, Mascarell, Darder; Larin, Muriqi.
Prediction
This should be a straightforward enough win for Real with Mallorca’s best chance of an upset being going beyond 90 minutes by drawing in regulation time. Pick: Real 2, Mallorca 0.
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