In the 39th edition of the Spanish Super Cup, the first of the two semi finals kicks off this Wednesday at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Real Madrid faces Valencia as both teams seek to restore momentum, mend morale after recent league disappointments, and reclaim credibility ahead of the second part of the season. This match also marks the first official trophy moment of the campaign, even as Real Madrid had already lifted the European Super Cup in August, a reminder of the team’s lingering mix of strengths and recent injuries.
Italian coaches Carlo Ancelotti for Real Madrid and Gennaro Gattuso for Valencia will guide their squads under the weight of league setbacks and key absences. Madrid travels with two pivotal players sidelined by soleus injuries, notably David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni, while Valencia arrives without Nico and Samu Castillejo, both operated on earlier. Gattuso also weighs the fitness of Marcos André, who carries a knee issue into the match.
The Madrid squad must rebuild defensively after a rough outing against Villarreal, with the loss of Alaba and Tchouaméni complicating Ancelotti’s plans. The coach preserves Dani Carvajal in a strategic rotation and leans on the Militao-Rüdiger center back pairing, while questions hover over Ferland Mendy due to a calf overload that affected his Monday training. The tactical question for Ancelotti centers on how to cover for Tchouaméni’s absence: Ceballos or Camavinga could join Kroos in midfield, or the front line could feature Marco Asensio or Rodrygo, with Fede Valverde operating a touch deeper to balance the team’s structure.
As for Valencia, Gattuso seems set to keep changes to a minimum, aiming for continuity with intent. Almeida may slot in to cover Ilaix on the midfield line, while Lato and Kluivert look to compensate for Castillejo’s attacking absence and contribute width and pace in the frontline transition game.
Valencia arrives with a clear objective: erase the memory of their last appearance in the competition, which ended in a heavy defeat. In the 2020 edition, they surrendered to Real Madrid in a performance that left a sour taste, conceding three goals in the opening 66 minutes and only trimming the deficit late to set the final score at 1-3. The upcoming semi final offers a chance for Valencia to reverse that narrative, while Real Madrid aims to extend its recent dominance in this fixture and position itself strongly for the second phase of the season.