FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona

"For us, the Supercopa is a prize," Valverde said. "It is already a prize to be here and we still want a bigger prize, which would be to be in the final."

The Blaugrana, who won the title last season by beating Real Madrid handsomely, will be eager to retain the trophy. For that to happen, they must first deal with Athletic Club tonight to secure a place in Sunday's final. Barcelona go into the game on the back of a strong run of results, racking up eight wins in a row in all competitions, most recently beating local rivals Espanyol 2-0 this past weekend.

The return of Dani Olmo could not have come at a better time for Barcelona. After a difficult month on the sidelines, the former RB Leipzig man marked his comeback in style by scoring against Espanyol last weekend. That goal did more than just help the team on the night, it reintroduced Olmo into the conversation ahead of the Spanish Super Cup.

In a major development, SPORT reports that the signing of Hamza Abdelkarim by Barcelona will be made official in the coming days. The Catalan club and Al Ahly have already reached an agreement and have overcome the final obstacle that was delaying approval of the deal: the financial terms. Everything is now in place for the young Egyptian player to become the latest addition to the Blaugrana reserve side for the second half of the season. In fact, he is expected to travel to Barcelona later this week.

The operation will not be straightforward for any club attempting to take Ake out of Manchester during this winter window. The Dutch international is under contract until June 2027 and earns a high salary. One of the main obstacles for Barcelona is that Man City would only listen to offers in the region of €20 million and are unlikely to agree to a loan deal. In addition, other Premier League clubs are also closely monitoring Ake's situation.