Real Madrid-Barça: all out for our 29th Copa del Rey

Chus Mateo's side will be looking to add to their Spanish Super Cup title haul in the final in Malaga (6:30pm CET).

Real Madrid-Barça: all out for our 29th Copa del Rey
PREVIEW.Edu Bueno (Málaga)Photographer: Víctor Carretero

Today, Real Madrid have the chance to add yet another Copa del Rey title and continue to add to their trophy haul in the competition (they are the most successful club with 28 trophies). Our team takes on Barça in the final, which will be a repeat of the 2014 final in Málaga, where a Llull shot with a tenth of a second remaining proclaimed us champions at the Martín Carpena. Ten years later, the same scenario and the same opponent in a Clásico in which Chus Mateo's team will be looking for their second title of the season after winning the Spanish Super Cup.

The fifth Clásico of the season will decide the Copa del Rey champion. The record favours Real Madrid with three wins in the four games played: 80-90 in the Supercopa, 86-79 in LaLiga and 65-64 in the EuroleagueReal Madrid will try to retain their status as Cup kings against their closest challengers, who have one less title to their name. Since that 2014 final, the madridistas have won five titles, while the Catalonians have won four.

The team coached by Chus Mateo are both league and Euroleague leaders and are having an excellent season. The blaugranas are third in the Spanish competition and second in Europe. In this edition of the Copa del Rey, our team knocked out UCAM Murcia in the quarter-finals (84-79) and Valencia Basket in the semi-finals (95-76). For their part, Barça defeated Baxi Manresa (102-91) and Lenovo Tenerife (108-76) to reach the final.

Our opponents
The team coached by Grimau is very complete. They will have to be cautious with Willy Hernangómez or Vesely on the inside and with the perimeter prowess of shooters such as Laprovittola, Parker and Kalinic. To counter them, Chus Mateo's team will have to show their strength as a team that they have shown this season. Campazzo (23.5 PIR on average) and Poirier (17.5) are the most outstanding players in the Cup this season.