Cup Final: Barcelona Faces a Golden Opportunity to Take Down Real Madrid

The King's Cup 2024-25 will have, for the eighth time, a Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the final. The azulgrana team secured their place in the decisive stage at La Cartuja thanks to a narrow victory against Atlético de Madrid (0-1), while the 'merengues' suffered greatly against Real Sociedad, having to wait for extra time to salvage a draw (4-4).

Thus, the culés and whites will define the second title of the season, undoubtedly the most important so far, after what was the final of the Supercopa de España held in Arabia. Hansi Flick's team won authoritatively with a 'handful' (2-5), which marked the second thrashing of the season in Clásicos after the beating in matchday 11 of La Liga, at Santiago Bernabéu (0-4).

The Cup Final, Two Weeks Before the League Clásico

In this sense, Barcelona has a golden opportunity to bury, once and for all, the aspirations of a Madrid that has been limping since the start of the 2024-25 season, but is still in the 'race' for the treble despite its very poor collective level. The Cup Final will arrive just two weeks before the Clásico of matchday 35 of La Liga, which, in principle, will also be decisive for the championship definition, as both teams remain separated by just 3 points.

A defeat in the cup final would undoubtedly be the blow that sends Carlo Ancelotti's team to the canvas, waiting to see what happens in the Champions quarter-final matchups. The whites will face an Arsenal severely hit by injuries, while Barcelona will do the same against a Borussia Dortmund that is no longer playing for anything in Germany and is once again betting everything on Europe. The 'semis' will be contested between the last week of April and the first week of May.

Barcelona and Madrid's Schedule in April

Before the Cup final, Barcelona must host Betis next Saturday in Montjuïc. The following week, they will host Borussia Dortmund for the first leg of the Champions quarter-finals, while on Saturday the 12th, they will host Alavés. Three days later, the culés will travel to Dortmund for the return leg of the quarters. The next stop will be on Saturday the 19th, in Montjuïc against Celta, just one week before the Cup final. In between, that week they will host Mallorca in La Liga.

Madrid, for its part, will host Valencia next Saturday, three days before traveling to London for the first leg of the Champions quarter-finals against Arsenal. Alavés will be their next opponent in La Liga, in Vitoria on Saturday the 13th, while the rematch against Arsenal will be on Wednesday the 15th at the Bernabéu. On Sunday the 20th, the 'merengues' will host Athletic and then must visit Getafe before the Cup Clásico.

*Does not include hypothetical Champions semi-finals