Looking to add another honour to their trophy cabinet, Real Madrid will face Mexican outfit Pachuca in the final of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday night in Qatar.
The tournament is a rebrand of the previous FIFA Club World Cup, with Manchester City the current holders after beating Flamengo last December.
Since a shock 2-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on the domestic scene on December 4, Real Madrid have strung together a three-game unbeaten streak across La Liga and the Champions League, getting the aims of retaining the crown in both of those competitions back on the right track.
That being said, Los Blancos were forced to settle for a point at the home of Rayo Vallecano on Saturday evening, when goals from Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Brazil international Rodrygo were not enough to secure a total success at Estadio de Vallecas in front of 14,000 fans.
Dropping points for the sixth time this season at the top table of Spanish football, Real Madrid have dropped down to third place in the La Liga standings ahead of their festive trip to the Middle East, one point behind league leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in second.
Focusing on individuals for a moment, summer signing Kylian Mbappe has failed to truly set the world alight at the Santiago Bernabeu just yet, with the Frenchman arguably struggling to fit alongside all of the other Galacticos in Carlo Ancelotti's exciting class of 2024-25.
Real Madrid earned their spot in Wednesday night's final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar courtesy of winning UEFA's elite club competition at Wembley Stadium in June, when second-half strikes from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr sealed a two-goal success over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League's showpiece match.
Pachuca have taken a more convoluted route to this week's Intercontinental Cup final, with the Mexican outfit already spending over seven days in the Middle East as they fought through back-to-back matches against continental champions to earn the right to face European giants Real Madrid.
Tuzos enjoyed a comfortable success at Stadium 974 in Doha last Wednesday night, when second-half strikes from Oussama Idrissi, Nelson Deossa and Salomon Rondon resulted in the 3-0 thumping of Brazilian side Botafogo, who lifted the Copa Libertadores title for first time in November.
Whilst Los Blancos battled away in Vallecano on Saturday, Pachuca were booking their spot in the Intercontinental Cup final with a penalty-shootout victory over African champions Al Ahly, with goalkeeper Carlos Moreno saving Khaled Abdelfattah's kick to win the contest.
Prior to their positive outings on the continental stage over the past week, Tuzos had endured a troubling end to their Liga MX Apertura campaign, winning just one of their last eight top-tier matches, meaning that they ended up 16th in the 18-team division.
Rather unsurprisingly, Lusail Stadium will witness the first-ever clash between Real Madrid and Pachuca on Wednesday night, although the two sides are set to become familiar foes, with both drawn into Group H of the next summer's revamped Club World Cup alongside Al-Hilal and Red Bull Salzburg.
With their 24-man squad for the trip to Qatar revealed on Monday, it has been confirmed that Real Madrid's Mbappe will be part of the travelling party and could feature at Lusail Stadium.
The Frenchman picked up a thigh injury during the Champions League triumph over Atalanta BC last week and missed Saturday's stalemate at Rayo Vallecano as a result.
Los Blancos' defensive options remain limited due to the season-ending injuries suffered by Euro 2024-winning Carvajal and Brazilian Eder Militao.
David Alaba (knee) has recently returned to Real Madrid training but has not been selected by Ancelotti for the contest in Qatar this week.
Battling back from a muscle injury sustained at the beginning of the month, Ferland Mendy is also set to stay in Spain as his teammates fight for intercontinental success in the Middle East.
Returning from a thigh issue suffered in October, Pachuca's Andres Micolta has been instrumental over the past week and should start in the final on Wednesday.
Tuzos remain without the services of defensive midfielder Israel Luna, who picked up a campaign-ending cruciate ligament injury in April.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Garcia; Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr
Pachuca possible starting lineup:
Moreno; Rodriguez, Cabral, Micolta, Gonzalez; Montiel, Pedraza, Deossa, Bautista, Idrissi; Rondon
We say: Real Madrid 3-0 Pachuca
As the champions of Europe, Real Madrid will be expected to swan into the Lusail Stadium and romp to victory on Wednesday night, especially if all of their attacking stars are fit to make the starting XI.
CONCACAF champions Pachuca will cherish the chance to pit their wits against one of the world's biggest clubs, although we do not believe that the Mexicans will enjoy a fairytale final in Qatar.
Milos Kerkez is attracting interest from a number of clubsThe 21-year-old is expected to make a decision on his future at the end of the season but wants to remain an important first-team player even if he moves on to a bigger club.The Hungary international has been one of Bournemouth's stand-out players this season and Liverpool have been keen on him for some time.Liverpool's sporting director Ri...

Arsenal confident about signing ZubimendiPer The Athletic's David Ornstein, Arsenal are confident that they can beat Real Madrid in the transfer race to sign Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad in the summer. The journalist said: 'They’ll be adding to the midfield with the arrival of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. Arsenal are acting internally as if that is a done de...

Carlo Ancelotti is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season with Xabi Alonso the heavy favourite to replace the legendary Italian.Per The Athletic, the 65-year-old is expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and take over as Brazil's new manager for the 2026 World Cup.The report suggests that the Brazilian football federation sent representatives to watch Ancelotti's side ge...

Jurgen Klopp's agent has set the record straight on the ex-Liverpool manager's future amid links with Real Madrid and Brazil.Klopp is Red Bull's Head of Global SoccerLinked with Brazil and Real MadridHis agent sets the record straightWHAT HAPPENED?Klopp became Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer earlier this year but just a few months into the post, reports have surfaced that he is unhappy there. How...

A woman dubbed ‘Arsenal’s biggest female fan’ has painted her body to resemble the team’s away kit to celebrate their recent victory over Real Madrid.Arabella Mia has become known for her nude antics, often turning up at matches wearing little more than body paint in the team’s colours.Arsenal fan Arabella Mia rocked the Gunners' away shirtAnd after Arsenal bested Rea...

Jude Bellingham is confident Real Madrid can overturn a 3-0 first-leg Champions League deficit against Arsenal on Wednesday to book their place in the last four.Real were left stunned by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium last week after Declan Rice scored two outstanding free-kicks to leave Carlo Ancelotti’s side with a mountainous task.But 15-time European champions Real have produced som...

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique admitted his side would not be intimidated by a hostile atmosphere at Aston Villa as they looked to finish the job in their Champions League quarter-final.The Ligue 1 champions travel to Birmingham with a 3-1 advantage from last week’s first leg in Paris and are heavy favourites to progress to the last four.But they will face a sterner test on Tuesday as th...

Arsenal forward Alessia Russo has silverware in her sights as she prepares to take on Real Madrid in the first Champions League quarter-final of her career.The in-form England international is the second highest scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with 10 goals and has also registered five times in Europe.Arsenal – the only English club to have won the Champions League, foll...

Paris St Germain head coach Luis Enrique believes the team which prevails in their last-16 tie against Liverpool at Anfield will be Champions League finalists.PSG trail 1-0 from their first leg despite a dominant display at the Parc des Princes but the former Barcelona boss is confident they can turn things around on Tuesday.“The most important game is the one which comes next and I hope it ...

Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor believes her side will be “desperate” to earn a good result in their midweek Women’s Super League clash with Leicester at Kingsmeadow.The Blues dropped points for only the second time in the league this season after Lauren James’ second-half equaliser rescued a point in a 2-2 draw with Brighton at the weekend.The defending champions mainta...



- 1 Four Tottenham stars could leave this summer
- 2 Man Utd & Man City join PSG in race for Akliouche
- 3 Jordan Bowery earns Mansfield a point at Rotherham
- 4 Man City in pole position to secure Morgan Gibbs
- 5 Liverpool join race to sign attacker Jeremy Monga
- 6 Arteta makes exciting Arsenal transfer claim
- 7 Grant McCann to keep Doncaster players calm despite being on brink of promotion
- 8 Mentality and spirit unbelievable – Daniel Farke praises promoted Leeds players
- 9 Rushian Hepburn-Murphy double helps ease Crawley drop fears
- 10 Ten-man Falkirk beaten by Raith as late goals keep title race alive