The return leg of Spanish Super Cup will be played at the Camp Nou next Monday.
Under normal circumstances, the Spanish Super Cup would pit the victor of the Primera Division against the team who won Copa del Rey. And yet, if Barcelona were offered the chance to sign one player from Athletic Club, they would pick the Bilbao side’s centre-back, Aymeric Laporte.
Bilbao will be without several key players for Friday’s Spanish Super Cup clash, with Ander Iturraspe and Mikel Rico both expected to miss out on starting spots.
Pique and Mascherano, together at the back as the club kept a clean sheet against Atletico Madrid in the Vicente Calderon and won La Liga. They triumphed over Italian champions Juventus. The Basque Country club haven’t had to travel the world for their pre-season preparations and when you couple that with Barcelona’s exhausting extra-time win in the UEFA Super Cup, well, one could be forgiven for declaring Athletic the favourites for tomorrow’s first-leg. However, it was Pedro who was the match victor, claiming the winning goal late on in extra time. They have only two wins and three losses in their last five games. Athletic Bilbao don’t have an impressive track record against the Catalans and were clearly outplayed in the most recent encounter. But we can’t get too involved and play their game. Bilbao lost one and finished the other three games with deadlocks. Such is the strength and depth of their squad that a transfer ban has done little to knock them and they are big favorites to retain their league title this season. However, their last head-to-head was at the Copa del Rey final, where Barcelona dominated with a 3-1 victory at the Cam Nou. The only question is whether Barcelona’s individual brilliance can carry them through, just as it did on Tuesday in the blistering heat of Tbilisi.
Pedro has been included in the Barcelona squad for the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup away at Athletic Bilbao on Friday, although manager Luis Enrique has admitted that the forward’s future remains in considerable doubt.
