On January 9th at midnight Beijing time, the curtain will rise on the 2024-25 Spanish Super Cup, with Barcelona taking the lead in the semi-finals against Athletic Bilbao, followed by reigning champions Real Madrid the next day in their semi-final match against Mallorca.
Barcelona and Real Madrid, the "two giants of the West Super", are naturally the favorites to win the title, but who will come out on top?
If it were the Barcelona team from two months ago, they would certainly be worth betting on. At that time, Flick's team first defeated their nemesis Bayern Munich 4-1 at home in the Champions League, then swept their arch-rival Real Madrid 4-0 away in La Liga, becoming the talk of the town. However, if it's the current Barcelona, they can even lose at home in La Liga to a relegation-threatened team, so making it to the final of the West Super Cup is questionable.
Real Madrid's squad strength is still above Barcelona's, but their performance is also inconsistent, compounded by long-term injuries and personnel shortages. If the opponent in the final of the West Super Cup is Barcelona, the outcome is really unpredictable.
Before Flick took over, Barcelona had lost four consecutive official matches to Real Madrid. In last season's West Super Cup final, Barcelona under Xavi suffered a crushing 1:4 defeat to Real Madrid.
If they meet in the final, it will be a revenge match for both sides. Barcelona wants to avenge their crushing defeat in last season's West Super Cup final, while Real Madrid wants to avenge their crushing defeat at home in La Liga this season.
The championship trophy is important for both sides! This may be the only title Barcelona has a chance to win this season. Judging from the current state of Flick's team, winning La Liga, the Champions League, and the King's Cup is very difficult.
Real Madrid has already won two titles, the European Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, but they have no guarantee of winning La Liga, the Champions League, or the King's Cup. The West Super Cup may be their last title this season.
In terms of player value, Barcelona's total team value is currently 1.02 billion euros, while Real Madrid's is 1.23 billion euros, 210 million euros higher than Barcelona's. However, Barcelona is on the rise, while Real Madrid is starting to decline.
Transfermarkt has updated the value of La Liga players, with 14 Real Madrid players seeing a drop in value, resulting in a staggering 130 million euro drop in the team's value. On the other hand, 10 Barcelona players saw an increase in value, with the team's value skyrocketing by 70 million euros. Transfermarkt commented: "The rise and fall of Spain's two major clubs."