Spanish Super Cup: Barcelona Want Another El Clasico Final But Osasuna are in the Way

Barcelona vs Osasuna

Despite their inconsistencies this season, which led to them trailing behind Girona and Real Madrid in the La Liga table, Barcelona have a great chance of winning a trophy in the form of the Spanish Super Cup, which they’ve won last year.

Their title defence starts with a date against Osasuna on Thursday, who qualified by being in the Copa del Rey final last year, losing to Real Madrid. And the pre-game SBOTOP odds are in favour of the hosts, given their overall quality compared to their visitors.

The winner of this contest will get to face the winner of the Madrid derby on the other side of the bracket, so there’s a huge possibility that we’ll get to see another El Clasico final.

Talking Points

Lewandowski back on track for Barca

Robert Lewandowski managed to score the winning penalty for Barcelona against Barbastro in their Copa del Rey Round of 32 tie yesterday, and you could see how much it meant to the Pole.

Prior to the game, Lewandowski had gone four games without scoring. He also had a couple of anonymous performances, including against Las Palmas last week, where he made minimal impact in his 80 minutes on the pitch.

Despite leading the team with nine goals and five assists this season, Lewandowski’s long-term future with Barcelona is still in question, especially with the recent arrival of Vitor Roque from Brazil.

Roque brings competition to Lewandowski, which is good for Barcelona, and Xavi has even thought about having both of them in a double-strike partnership up front.

While Barcelona’s attack is sorted, the same can’t be said for their backline since they haven’t had a clean sheet since their 1-0 shutout win over Atletico Madrid last December.

First-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen hasn’t started since their 2-1 win over Alaves in November because he sustained a lower back injury, so his impending return will surely bolster their backline.

Budimir still going strong for Osasuna

Speaking of Barca’s leaky backline, they will certainly have their hands full on Thursday with Ante Budimir on the other side.

Budimir may have just turned 32 years old, but he is showing zero signs of slowing down. This season, the veteran striker is Los Rojillos’ only double-digit scorer thus far, with 10 goals and two assists in all competitions.

Besides Osasuna, Croatia have been witnesses to Budimir, as he managed to secure their spot to qualify for Euro 2024 after he scored the marginal goal against Armenia in the final group stage contest in Group D.

Budimir did the same thing against Almeria last time out, and he was rested against Castellon in their Copa del Rey Round of 32 matchup last Sunday, so he should be good to start against Barcelona.

Chimy Avila can also create Spanish Super Cup 2024 highlights for Los Rojillos, as he is their top playmaker this season with three assists, and he also has two goals.

History

Barcelona and Osasuna have already met this campaign, with the former winning 2-1 in September 2023, as Jules Kounde and Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona while Chimy Avila scored for Osasuna.

With the victory, Barcelona have gone seven straight La Liga games without a loss against Osasuna (W6, D1). Osasuna’s last win against Barcelona was a 2-1 result in July 2020, which saw the Blaugrana’s title hopes disappear.

The 2022-23 Spanish Super Cup was Xavi’s maiden trophy as Barcelona manager. Last year, they managed to beat Valencia in the semi-finals before defeating Real Madrid in the final in Riyadh.

The Blaugrana currently have the most Spanish Super Cups in history, with 14. Real Madrid are right behind them with 12, while Atletico Bilbao and Deportivo La Corona are next with three each.

Betting Tip

The Spanish Super Cup 2024 odds are in favour of Barcelona to advance to the final, as they are priced at 1.39, whereas Osasuna are 6.80 underdogs, and a draw is at 4.30 odds in the 1X2 market.

With Barcelona rediscovering their shooting boots, we also reckon that they will win this game in a fairly high-scoring affair, making Total Goal 2-3 at 2.00, Total Goal 4-6 at 2.57, and Over 3.25 at 2.19 viable. Meanwhile, a Correct Score of 2-1 in favour of the Blaugrana – the result of their most recent meeting – is on offer at 7.00. But if you fancy Osasuna to break their duck against Barcelona, take a look at Correct Score 1-0, since it is being offered at a whopping 22.00.

 

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