The first piece of European silverware is up for grabs on Wednesday evening in Warsaw as the Super Cup pits last season’s CL winners, Real Madrid, against EL winners, Atalanta.
It seems like it was yesterday that we saw these two teams win these prestigious trophies. Real Madrid will play in this match as they got the better of Dortmund in the CL final and Atalanta pulled off a surprise win over Bayer Leverkusen in the EL final. These two teams have only met twice before, with the Spanish giants winning both times, in 2021.
What can we expect from Real Madrid?
Real Madrid are currently the most successful team in this competition, winning five Super Cups along with AC Milan and Barcelona, so a victory here would put them alone with six wins. They will undoubtedly be the big favorites to win this match, having won five of their previous eight Super Cups. If their players are fit, ready to play and in the form they were in last season, it would be difficult to give many other teams a chance. Real Madrid have not lost a competitive match since being knocked out of the Copa del Rey in January by city rivals Atletico Madrid. This series includes 18 wins and 8 draws. It’s always difficult to take too much information from pre-season, Real Madrid have won two and lost two of their four matches, the last being a 2-1 victory against Chelsea. The league season in Spain begins the following weekend, so this will effectively be a final pre-season match for the Spanish giants before kicking off their league campaign with a trip to Mallorca.
Can Atalanta upset the Spanish champions?
Atalanta will not be intimidated by facing a more prestigious opponent, they have shown that they are more than capable of beating an opponent considered more illustrious than them. They had another good season in the league last year and added the EL Trophy to their haul. The Bergamo side have just two major honors in their trophy cabinet, with last season’s cup victory ending a 61-year wait for silverware. They’d desperately like to add another win to that and they’ll feel this game gives them a decent opportunity as no one really knows how prepared either team is likely to be since the season hasn’t actually started. Atalanta will be the 41st different team to compete in the European Super Cup and it is the fourth year in a row that a debutant team has been involved in the match. Atalanta’s pre-season before this match wasn’t great as they lost to German sides St. Pauli and Parma and managed a draw against AZ Alkmaar. They will have an extra day of rest after this match as their Serie A opener is on Monday and they will also be away, playing at Lecce.
Final Thoughts
The Spanish giants are naturally favorites to win this match, with a 1.51 chance of winning in normal time while Atalanta have just a 6.20 chance of success. Given that the title holders have won ten of the last eleven editions of the Super Cup, it’s really difficult to see beyond a Real Madrid victory. Kylian Mbappe is likely to make his debut in the white shirt for Real so he is certainly one to watch and for Atalanta, Ademola Lookman certainly showed he relishes the big occasions with his hat trick in the EL final against Bayer Leverkusen.
Hopefully it will be an entertaining encounter that will whet our appetite for what awaits us this weekend as the Spanish, Italian and other leagues kick off with the first round.
PS: The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last updated: 08/14/24
