Athletic Club face Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup 2022 final on Sunday night at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. While Los Blancos defeated FC Barcelona to get this far, Marcelino’s Lions booked their place in the showdown with a memorable comeback victory against Atlético Madrid.

Los Rojiblancos now have a chance to successfully retain a trophy they lifted last season and have won three times in total (1984, 2015 and 2021). What’s more, it will be Athletic’s fourth final in the space of a year.

Match Info
Real Madrid (Supercopa Final)

King Fahd International Stadium (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

Spanish Super Cup 2022

Sunday January 16, 19:30 CET

How to Watch

Wherever you are in the world, don’t miss the big final. We’ve compiled a worldwide TV guide to help you watch the match.

Team News
Athletic Club have a 25-man squad for the final: Unai Simón, Jokin Ezkieta, Agirrezabala, Petxarroman, Unai Nuñez, I. Martínez, Yeray, Vesga, Berenguer, O. Sancet, I. Williams, Muniain, Vivian, Dani García, Lekue, Yuri Berchiche, De Marcos, Zarraga, Villalibre, Capa, Raúl García, Nolaskoain, Balenziaga, N. Williams and Serrano.

Yuri made his long-awaited comeback from injury in the semi-final against Atlético Madrid. While Unai Nuñez, now fully recovered, flew from Bilbao to Riyadh on Saturday in order to join his teammates.

Marcelino

Marcelino heaped praise on his players for their performance against Atlético Madrid on Thursday, while insisting Athletic have a chance of causing a further upset in the final on Sunday night.

Catch up with what the Gaffer had to say at his pre-match press conference.

Iker Muniain

Athletic Club captain Iker Muniain insisted an upset was on the cards, especially so considering the decent performances the Lions put in against Real Madrid in December.

The skipper also promised they players would “give everything they’ve got to make the fans proud” on Sunday.

Athletic in the Supercopa
Los Rojiblancos beat FC Barcelona the last two times they have won the the Supercopa (2015 and 2021).

Last season they knocked out Real Madrid in the semi-finals with a 1-2 win before going on to beat FC Barcelona 2-3 in the final.

Seven years ago, the title was decided over two legs, with Athletic winning 4-0 at San Mamés and then drawing 1-1 at the Camp Nou.

In 1984, no match was played, as Athletic had won the double the previous season and until 1996 the Supercopa was automatically awarded to any side that had won both LaLiga and the Copa del Rey.

The Opponents

Real Madrid was founded on March 6 1902. In its 120-year history, the club has lifted the Spanish Super Cup trophy 11 times.

The most recent triumph in the tournament came in the 2019-20 season, the first edition held on Saudi soil. At that time, Los Blancos eliminated Valencia in the semi-finals before beating Atlético Madrid on penalties in the final.

In addition to the Supercopa, the club’s honours list includes 34 La Liga titles, 19 Copas del Rey, 13 Champions Leagues, two UEFA Cups, seven Club World Cups and four European Super Cups.

Real Madrid are managed by Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, the same man who led them to Copa del Rey and Champions League victories in 2013/14. Furthermore, they currently sit top of the LaLiga Santander table with 49 points from 21 matches.

Sometimes referred to as El Viejo Clásico (The Old Classic), Athletic and Real Madrid have faced each other a whopping 263 times in all competitions.

The head-to-head balance hangs in Los Blancos’ favour, with Real Madrid having won 132 times, while there have been 47 draws and Los Leones emerged victorious in the other 84 clashes.

For more information, check out Athletic’s full fixture history against Real Madrid.

Previous Finals
Although this will be the first time both sides have met in the Supercopa final, they have played a total of nine finals over the last 110 years, all of which came in the Copa del Rey.

Athletic won seven of those encounters, while Real Madrid prevailed in the other two. Perhaps the most famous and significant victory came in the last of those clashes, the 1957/58 final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Lions, whose entire starting XI was born within a 40 kilometre radius of Bilbao, travelled down to Madrid as clear underdogs, but managed to upset the odds, winning 2-0 against a Real Madrid side led by the legendary Alfredo di Stefano. The feat went down in history and the Athletic line-up became known as “Los Once Aldeanos” (The Eleven Villagers).

3-2 Athletic Club – 1902/03
0-1 Real Madrid – 1904/05
1-4 Real Madrid – 1905/06
3-2 Athletic Club – 1906/07
4-0 Athletic Club – 1915/16
3-2 Athletic Club – 1929/30
2-1 Athletic Club – 1932/33
1-0 Athletic Club – 1942/43
2-0 Athletic Club – 1957/58