When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Super Cup game between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt meet in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on Wednesday 10 August.
Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt at a glance
When: Wednesday 10 August (21:00 CET kick-off)
Where: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki
What: UEFA Champions League holders vs UEFA Europa League winners
Where to watch Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt on TV
What do you need to know?
European champions Real Madrid are taking on UEFA Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the traditional opener to the new UEFA club competition season.
It will be the sides’ first competitive meeting since the sensational 1960 European Cup final, when Real Madrid won the competition for the fifth time in a row, beating Frankfurt 7-3 at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Alfredo Di Stéfano scored three and Ferenc Puskás four for the winners, though Richard Kress briefly put Frankfurt in front and Erwin Stein struck twice for the German side in the second half.
Celtic great Jimmy Johnstone watched the match and remembered: “It was like a fantasy staged in heaven. I had never seen football like it, nor would I ever again. I’ll recite the names of that Madrid forward line till the day I die.”
Possible starting line-ups
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Alaba, Mendy: Kroos, Casemiro, Modrić: Valverde, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior
Frankfurt: Trapp; Touré, Tuta, N’Dicka; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostić; Kamada, Götze; Borré
Do the European champions usually win?
UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea lifted the trophy in 2021, but this pattern does not always apply. The European Cup/UEFA Champions League holders have won 26 of the 46 editions. Find a full rundown of UEFA Super Cup records and statistics.
Expert predictions
Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter
There are several intense training sessions to go before Spanish studs tread the Helsinki Olympic Stadium – bumps and bruises can occur. But Carlo Ancelotti has been crystal clear about two things. Firstly, he’ll try hard, match fitness permitting, to reward the XI who started, and won, the Champions League final against Liverpool by fielding them from the outset. And, secondly, that Madrid’s starters and substitutes must treat this historic rematch with Frankfurt with ruthless seriousness. Game on.
James Thorogood, Frankfurt reporter
After starting the season with a comfortable win and man-of-the-match performance from marquee summer signing Mario Götze in the first round of the German Cup, Frankfurt were brought crashing back down to earth on Friday with a 6-1 loss to Bayern in their Bundesliga opener. Coach Oliver Glasner didn’t mince his words after the game either, calling for a marked improvement as he looks to maintain the standards set by the Europa League winners last season.
What the coaches say
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: “Last year Eintracht achieved something special because they weren’t among the favourites. They played great games, winning against Barcelona at Camp Nou by playing a counterattacking style of football. They’re a team that will definitely cause problems. Thanks to the strengths we both have, it will be a very good game.”
Oliver Glasner, Frankfurt coach: “We’re all very much looking forward to facing them. I don’t see it as a head to head with Carlo Ancelotti but rather with Real Madrid, one of the greatest and most illustrious clubs in the history of football. We want to prepare so that we have every chance of winning the match.”
