Team news, manager quotes and bookmaker odds ahead of Thursday’s Spanish Super Cup clash between Clasico rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid- The big clash to start

TEAM NEWS:

Alex Song is available for Barca after completing a £15m switch from Arsenal at the weekend but a decision on his participation will be made on the day of the match. Barca’s squad is fit in the sense that everyone is in training, but Eric Abidal and Thiago Alcantra are not match fit and unlikely to feature. Some of Barca’s youngsters, such as Isaac Cuenca, could get a start. If Cesc Fabregas plays it will be his 50th match for Barcelona since joining from Arsenal last summer.


Real are without defender Pepe, who suffered concussion in the 1-1 draw with Valencia, with Raul Albiol set to replace him as Ricardo Carvalho discusses terms with QPR. Pepe is expected to return for the Liga match against Getafe. Nuri Sahin will not feature as he looks set to move to either Arsenal or Liverpool, but Kaka could feature.

MANAGER QUOTES:

Tito Vilanova (Barcelona): “I don’t have anything riding on the result of this game. I like to experience this profession calmly. I am sorry, but there are more important things in my life. I know it is important, but I couldn’t do my job properly if I was worrying whether the world would fall on top of me if we lost. Neither team is at its optimum level at present. I don’t see much of a difference between them at present.”

Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid): “A match between rivals is always important, even in a summer tournament, but the Super Cup is the least important of the four we play during the season. I believe there is no relation between the winner and what is going to happen in the whole season. We lost the Super Cup last season and we won the league breaking records. At Inter (Milan) I also lost the Super Cup and that season we won the treble – the Cup, the Champions League and the league – and with Chelsea we won the Super Cup and didn’t win the championship.”

MATCH ODDS:

Barcelona 5/6 , Real Madrid 3/1, Draw 14/5

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