Wherever it’s played and whatever the stakes the Clasico will never cease being must-watch. On Wednesday, eternal rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in Saudi Arabia in a loser-go-home Spanish Supercopa semifinal.

After a difficult start to the season, a managerial change and a previous 2-1 league loss to Madrid, Barcelona will actually  have some hope to spring the surprise in this one: New signing Ferran Torres will make his debut for the Blaugrana and he’ll start from the opening minute after his $55 million transfer from Manchester City. Midfield star Pedri is also on the bench.

Real Madrid is the favorite in the match and rightly so: The Merengues have been a machine in the return of Carlo Ancelotti as manager and they’ve been led by rising star Vinicius Junior and the ever-dependable Karim Benzema. Their scoring exploits have Madrid at the top of La Liga, 16 points ahead of Barcelona, and eyeing more silverware in Saudi Arabia.

The Spanish Supercopa pits the La Liga winner and runner-up against the Copa del Rey winner and runner-up in single-game semifinals and a final which takes place on Sunday. The Barcelona-Real Madrid winner faces the winner of the Atletico Madrid vs. Athletico Bilbao semifinal happening Thursday.

Sporting News will be following the event live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid live score

Goals:

25th min.— Real Madrid — Vinicius Junior (Karim Benzema)

(All times Eastern)

39th min.: Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio gives it another try with the left foot from outside the box. This one at least forces Ter Stegen to work after a deflection off Ronald Araujo.

32nd min.: Another Luuk de Jong header and he bounces it right at Courtois. Good spell for Barcelona.

30th min.: What a chance for Barcelona! Simple cross from the left from Dembele and Luuk de Jong heads it straight at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Barca hasn’t created much in attack and can’t let too many of those chance slip by.

25th min.: Goal Real Madrid! Karim Benzema pokes the ball away from Sergio Busquets in midfield, then feeds Vinicius Junior who gets in behind Barca’s defense and it’s lights out. Vini Jr just glides by Araujo and roofs it. Madrid in the lead. Vinicius Junior is having some season: 15th goal of the season in his 27th match.

23rd min.: CAUTION – Ferran Torres gets the first yellow for pulling Ferland Mendy’s shirt. Barcelona is pressing high, but it’s not very effective at winning the ball or causing much trouble. Real Madrid players are getting past it pretty effectively.

20th min.: Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior is up for this one. He goes on a sprint after the second Barcelona corner and feeds Asensio, who curls another wide. Vini is wreaking havoc down the left flank.

19th min.: Back-to-back corners for Barcelona. It’s Ferran Torres took one and Dembele the other. Nothing comes of them.

12th min.: It’s Vinicius Junior’s turn to take aim. His shot is on target and Barca ‘keeper Ter Stegen is up to the task. Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo was tracking Vini on his run behind. Barcelona’s attack is non-existent up to now.

11th min.: Ferran Torres is positioned wide right, Dembele on the left and Luuk de Jong as the center forward. Ferran Torres trying a bit too hard to start his Barcelona career.

8th min.: Now it’s Marco Asensio with space to fire a left-footed shot that finishes high. Real Madrid gets forward quick and based on what we’ve seen so far Ancelotti’s men are most likely to score. Barcelona giving away the ball easy.

3rd min.: It’s Karim Benzema with the first attempt of the day after a bad pass attempt and turnover by Dani Alves. The shot goes high and Barcelona gets off easy there. Benzema is hot (22 goals in 25 games) and he’s bound to score if he gets those kinds of looks.

1st min.: We’re off. We’ll see where Ferran Torres lines up for Barcelona.

1:32 p.m. : New Barcelona signing Ferran Torres is ready for his debut, and it comes in El Clasico, nonetheless. The whole squad has arrived at the stadium in Riyadh.

1:25 p.m.: Dani Alves will be plenty motivated to face Real Madrid for the first time since his return.

Supercopa lineups for El Clasico

A day after officially being cleared to register for the club, new signing  Ferran Torres  will get to start against Real Madrid for his Barcelona debut. He recovered in time from a positive COVID-19 test to travel to Saudi Arabia along with young midfielder  Pedri , who starts on the bench.

Luuk de Jong gets the start over Dutchman  Memphis Depay , who will be a sub. Meanwhile, Ansu Fati makes the bench but American  Sergino Dest , who’s been the subject of January transfer rumors, does not.

Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Ter Stegen (GK) – 18-Alba, 4-Araujo, 3-Pique, 8-Alves – 30-Gavi, 5-Busquets, 21-F. De Jong – 7-Dembele, 17-L. De Jong, 19-Ferran Torres

Barcelona subs (10): Neto (GK), Inaki Pena (GK), O. Mingueza, Lenglet, Riqui Puig, Pedri, Memphis Depay, Ansu Fati, Jutgla, EZ Abde

Real Madrid supposedly had a fit squad for this event, but David Alaba  felt muscle discomfort after training the day before the match and had to bow out with Nacho taking his place in defense.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti opted for Dani Carvajal over  Lucas Vazquez at right back and  Marco Asensio over  Rodrygo at right wing.

Real Madrid projected starting lineup (4-3-3): 1-Courtois (GK) – 2-Carvajal, 3-Militao, 6-Nacho, 23-F. Mendy – 8-Kroos, 14-Casemiro, 10-Modric – 11-Asensio, 9-Benzema, 20-Vinicius Jr.

Real Madrid subs (11): 13-Lunin (GK), 12-Marcelo, 19-Dani Ceballos, 17-Lucas Vazquez, 5-Vallejo, 15-Valverde, 22-Isco, 25-Camavinga, 21-Rodrygo, 7-Hazard, 16-Jovic

How to watch Barca vs. Real

• Date: Wednesday, Jan. 12
• Time:  2 p.m. ET
• TV:  ESPN
• Spanish TV:  ESPN Deportes
• Streaming: fuboTV , ESPN+, WatchESPN.com (authenticated users only)

Wednesday’s Supercopa de Espana semifinal between Barcelona and Real Madrid in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and streamed on ESPN+ (subscribers) and WatchESPN (authentication required).

Fans can also stream the ESPN and ESPN Deportes broadcasts via fuboTV , which offers a free trial for new users .

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