Seville’s Estadio de La Cartuja is the venue for Saturday’s 2020/21 Copa del Rey final between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona.
To give you an idea of the gulf between the two sides, third-place Barcelona currently holds a 28-point lead over tenth-place Athletic Bilbao in the La Liga standings.
Bilbao beat UD Ibiza and Alcoyano in the early stages of the competition, before edging out Real Betis on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Following a 1-1 draw with Levante in first leg of the semi-finals, Bilbao eventually advanced after extra-time, progressing with a 3-2 aggregate win.
However, Bilbao’s La Liga campaign has not gone to plan this season. A mid-table finish is the best the club can hope for.
Raul Garcia is Bilbao’s top scorer this term, with nine goals to his name. Meanwhile, Iker Muniain has contributed nine assists in all competitions.
Inaki Williams will also be hoping to make his mark on the Copa del Rey final, having bagged seven goals and seven assists in all competitions this season.
On the flip side, it’s fair to say that Barcelona’s route to the Copa del Rey final has been far from straightforward.
Barca required extra-time to get past Cornella and Granada earlier in the campaign, with a narrow 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano coming along the way.
Ronald Koeman’s side then lost the first leg of their semi-final tie with Sevilla 2-0, yet they managed to win the second leg 3-0 after extra-time.
Barcelona were enjoying a remarkable 19-match unbeaten streak in La Liga before meeting fierce rivals Real Madrid last time out.
Los Blancos ended Barca’s run of 13 wins in 14 La Liga games by clinching a 2-1 victory in El Classico on Saturday.
Head-to-head: Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona have already face each other twice in La Liga this season, with Barca winning on both occasions.
After sealing a 3-2 away victory, Barcelona beat Bilbao 2-1 at Camp Nou back in January, with Lionel Messi scoring three goals across the two games.
Team news: Defensive midfielder Peru Nolaskoain is Athletic Bilbao’s only injury doubt for Saturday’s final.
On the other hand, Barcelona will be without injured quartet Moussa Wague, Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho and Neto.
With so much at stake, the 2020/21 Copa del Rey final is destined to be a closely-fought encounter. However, Barcelona are expected to edge it.
Forebet predicts that Barcelona will keep a clean sheet on their way to triumphing over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.