Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao will play against each other to determine who will succeed Real Madrid as the Copa del Rey Champions. Luis Enrique's side has proven to be quite effective, while the red-and-white outfit need to win this game in order to save face in front of their fans. This match will see the clash of the most winning teams in this tournament, and either Barcelona widens the gap between them, or Athletic Bilbao improves their all-time record against Los Blaugranas.
This will be the eighth time these two sides meet in a Copa del Rey final, with Los Cules taking the trophy home five times (1920, 1942, 1953, 2009 and 2012), while Los Leones de San Mamés have won two meetings - 1932 and 1984). Furthermore, this will be the fourth final to be played at Camp Nou stadium; the last edition to take place there was the 2010 final between Sevilla and Atletico.
Barcelona's form this season suggests this could be like a walk in the park for Luis Enrique's men. Los Blaugranas have scored 31 goals in their Copa del Rey campaign, while conceding just five. Their road to the final included playing against Huesca, Elche, Atletico and Villarreal, with an average of 2.9 goals scored per game. This season, Lionel Messi's skills have been rounded up by Neymar's talent and Luis Suarez's clinical definition inside the opponents' box, but their deeds will not be complete unless they can lead Los Blaugranas to glory. In fact, one of these players might end up not being available for this game.
Suarez has still thigh muscle discomfort. It's not clear if he will be able to play cup final. Had treatment at sports centre today. [md]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) May 26, 2015
On the other side of the pitch, Athletic Bilbao still wants to deny the heavily favored Blaugranas of another championship, and they surely know how to complicate things for the Catalunyans. Unlike their opponents, Los Vascos struggled to get through the Round of 16, when they drew against Celta Vigo 4-4, but managed to make it to the next round due to the away goal rule. After that, Los Leones beat Malaga and Espanyol in order to make their 36th appearance in the Copa del Rey Final
Perhaps the team's chances of success will rely on what Aritz Aduriz can do up front, but he will be backed by such players as Iker Muniain and Mikel San José. The defender could prove to be quite useful for the team, considering his set pieces skills, which made him the third most prolific scoring defender in the Spanish top flight.
6 - Nicolás Otamendi has scored more goals than any other defender in La Liga this season. Boss. pic.twitter.com/sSYLJKYftG
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 23, 2015
Curiously enough, even if the match will be held at Camp Nou Stadium, Los Blaugranas will be considered the "away" team, since there was a draw after the venue was elected. It is yet to be determined which colors each side will be wearing, but there should be no problem for either team to wear their usual uniforms.
Finally, this game will have another nostalgic element for Los Culés, being Xavi Hernandez's final game wearing the Blaugrana outfit in a match played in Spain. Hernandez performed in his last Liga game last Saturday, when Barcelona gave away a draw against Deportivo. The player from Terrassa will attempt to win his third Copa del Rey with the club.
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