FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF
Spanish Super Cup, Leg 1
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Sunday, August 13th, 2017 4:00PM ET ESPN
For Real Madrid, things don’t get any easier at the weekend, as the club will once again be squaring off against its eternal rivals in FC Barcelona. That’s right, it’s EL CLASICO! Us fans and pundits have been blessed with a two legged El Clasico, Spanish Super Cup edition, to kick off Spain’s domestic season. It’s been three years since we’ve last witnessed a Real Barcelona Super Cup, as Real Madrid won LaLiga and Barcelona won the Copa del Rey this past year. Thus, this rendition is not only about beating its rival, but also about lifting the first piece of Spanish hardware for the 2017-18 campaign. As for the play on the field, it’s expected that CR7 will finally be back from his summer holiday, which is obviously a huge boost for Los Blancos. Conversely, it’ll be the first competitive match for Barcelona without the recently departed Neymar Jr. Yup, Neymar is officially a Parisian after the controversial €222 million buyout clause was finally met, last week. Thus, the void on the left side of Barcelona’s three pronged attack will surely be a point of interest for everyone watching. In the short term, La Azulgrana will likely fill the left wing with either Denis Suarez, Arda Turan, Munir El Hadaddi or newly re-acquired Gerard Deulofeu, before ultimately bringing in a new signing such as Philippe Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele later in the transfer window. Regardless of who gets the nod, they will have HUGE boots to fill as Neymar is regarded as the third best player in the world, behind only his former teammate Lionel Messi and Real’s Ronaldo.
LSB Prediction: With the match taking place at the Camp Nou, the edge must go to Barcelona. The fans will be rocking regardless, but with pent up frustration of seeing Messi’s heir apparent ditch the Blaugrana kit and Catalonian colors for a deep pocketed payday and shimmering Eiffel Towel spotlight. Expect an absolutely absurd atmosphere inside the nearly 100,000 seat stadium. As for the Barcelona squad, the players will be eager show that they are just fine without the mercurial Brazilian, as they will feed off the home crowd and throttle the Galaticos Sunday evening. 4-1 FC Barcelona