On Saturday evening, Athletic Bilbao and RCD Mallorca will compete for silverware at Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla.
With no La Liga fixtures scheduled for this weekend, Spanish football fans will turn their attention to the Copa del Rey showpiece between two unexpected finalists.
Remarkably, Athletic Bilbao have featured in – and lost – five of the previous 15 Copa del Rey finals, while Mallorca’s last triumph came back in 2003.
💭🏆 Tenemos un sueño. #UniqueInTheWorld #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/3oPhrVhn0s— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) April 4, 2024
💭🏆 Tenemos un sueño. #UniqueInTheWorld #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/3oPhrVhn0s
Athletic Bilbao kicked off their Copa del Rey campaign with straightforward victories over UE Rubi, CD Cyon, Eibar and Deportivo Alaves.
In the quarter-finals, Athletic claimed an impressive 4-2 victory over Barcelona before booking their place in the final with a 4-0 aggregate win against Atletico Madrid.
The Basque Country outfit have been in fine form across all competitions in recent months, losing just two of their previous 12 matches.
Having suffered only three defeats in their last 27 games, Athletic Bilbao will be hopeful of lifting the trophy in Seville this weekend.
As for Mallorca, they started their Copa del Rey journey with clean-sheet victories over CD Boiro, Valle de Egues and Burgos CF before edging past Tenerife in extra time.
Following a 3-2 victory over Girona in the quarter-finals, Mallorca defeated Real Sociedad on penalties to book their place in the showpiece.
The Pirates have enjoyed plenty of success in recent weeks, losing just one of their last six matches across all competitions, with three wins coming in that time.
Averaging 2.1 goals per game in the Copa del Rey this season, the team from the Balearic Islands will back themselves to challenge for the trophy on Saturday.
Head-to-head: When these two sides met in La Liga back in February, Athletic Bilbao thrashed Mallorca 4-0, with Yuri Berchiche bagging a brace.
It is also worth noting that Athletic have lost just one of their previous four Copa del Rey meetings with Mallorca, notching back-to-back clean-sheet victories in the process.
Team news: Athletic Bilbao will be without the injured duo of Nico Williams and Yeray Alvarez for Saturday’s showpiece.
On the flip side, Mallorca have a solitary name on their injury list, with Slovakian defender Martin Valjent on the sidelines.
When you couple Athletic’s impressive form with Mallorca’s poor recent record in this fixture, all the signs point towards another win for the Basque Country outfit.
Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts that Athletic Bilbao will secure a clean-sheet victory over Mallorca, claiming their first Copa del Rey title since 1984.