Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla will play host to the 2023-24 Copa del Rey final on Saturday evening, with 23-time winners Athletic Bilbao facing fellow La Liga outfit Mallorca for the trophy.
Athletic are the second-most successful side in the history of the competition behind Barcelona, who have won 31 titles, while Mallorca have lifted the trophy once - beating Recreativo de Huelva in the 2003 final.
Match preview
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The Copa del Rey is a competition which has been kind to Athletic throughout history, lifting the trophy on 23 occasions, making them the second-most successful side behind Barcelona (31).
Athletic have not actually won the Spanish Cup since 1984, though, and they have lost on their last six appearances in the final, most recently in 2020-21.
The Lions have beaten Rubi, Cayon, Eibar, Alaves, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to reach this season's final, and they were excellent in the semi-finals of the competition, overcoming Atletico 4-0 on aggregate, while they beat Barcelona 4-2 in the final eight, so it is difficult to argue against their spot in the showpiece event.
Ernesto Valverde's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, which saw them drop out of the top four, with Atletico moving ahead of them in the table.
The Basque outfit remain very much in the argument for a top-four spot, though, sitting just two points behind Atletico, and they will take on Diego Simeone's side in the league towards the end of the month.
Athletic's current focus will be on the Copa del Rey, though, with the club bidding to secure their first trophy since lifting the Spanish Super Cup in the 2020-21 campaign.
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While Athletic's history in the Copa del Rey is impressive, the same cannot be said for Mallorca, but the Pirates know what it takes to win the tournament, having triumphed back in 2003.
Mallorca famously beat Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 2002-03 competition before overcoming Deportivo La Coruna in the semi-finals, and they then recorded a 3-0 victory over Recreativo de Huelva in the final, with a certain Samuel Eto'o scoring a brace.
Javier Aguirre's side beat Boiro, Valle Egues Burgos and Tenerife in the early rounds of this season's competition before recording a 3-2 success over Girona in the quarter-finals, and the team then beat Real Sociedad on penalties in the semi-finals to secure their spot in the final.
This will be Mallorca's fourth appearance in the final of the Copa del Rey, losing out in 1990-91 and 1997-98 before triumphing in 2003, and it would be some story if they could triumph to secure their first major silverware in 21 years.
Los Piratas will enter the match off the back of a goalless draw with Valencia in La Liga last Saturday, and they currently sit 15th in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone, so their work is far from done this season when it comes to staying in the division.
Mallorca lost 4-0 to Athletic when the two teams locked horns in the league two months ago, but three of their last four meetings, which have all been in Spain's top flight, have finished level.
Team News
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Athletic are sweating over the fitness of Nico Williams, who is struggling with a muscular issue, and a late call is expected to be made on the Spain international's involvement this weekend.
Yeray Alvarez is also a doubt, having been substituted early on against Real Madrid, so it is likely to be Aitor Paredes alongside Dani Vivian in the middle of the defence on Saturday night.
There are not expected to be any real surprises, with Alex Berenguer on standby if Nico Williams does not make it, while Inaki Williams, Oihan Sancet and Gorka Guruzeta will also feature in the forward areas.
Julen Agirrezabala is behind Unai Simon in terms of the goalkeeping position in La Liga, but the Spaniard is set to retain his spot in the Copa del Rey for the final.
As for Mallorca, Dominik Greif, who is also the club's number two stopper, is set to feature between the sticks.
Omar Mascarell will miss out on Saturday due to the hamstring problem which he suffered against Valencia, while Martin Valjent is a major doubt with a thigh issue, so he will need to be assessed ahead of the contest.
Samu Costa, Toni Lato, Dani Rodriguez and Antonio Raillo are set to return to the XI, having been on the bench for the first whistle of the team's last match.
However, there are unlikely to be any changes in the attack despite the presence of Abdon Prats, who has scored six times in the Copa del Rey this term, with Cyle Larin set to get the nod alongside Vedat Muriqi in the front two.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Prados, Vesga; I Williams, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Copete, Nastasic, Raillo; Gonzalez, Samu, Darder, D Rodriguez, Lato; Muriqi, Marin
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Mallorca
Athletic are the favourites this weekend, but the form book often goes out the window in matches of this magnitude, and Mallorca have enough quality to cause real problems to the Basque outfit. We are expecting a tight game in Seville but are backing Athletic to get the job done within 90 minutes to secure the trophy.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
