BARCELONA TAKE ON REAL MADRID IN SUPERCOPA DE ESPANA - FERRAN TORRES STARTS

It’s Barcelona versus Real Madrid, but not as we know it. The raucous walls of the Camp Nou and Bernabeu have given way to the vaulted roof of the King Fahd Stadium, in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia have been desperate to host football’s glitziest fixture and finally managed to with the help of three-year deal for the Supercopa.

The game may not be gone, but this one has certainly left Spain.

Catch up with the latest tittle-tattle, tell-alls and tall tales from today’s Paper Round and make it back for the first kick of the game.

We're just half an hour from kick-off at the King Fahd stadium.

Last time out for Real Madrid was a comprehensive win over Valencia, 4-1, with both Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior scoring twice.

An 'upset and disappointed' Xavi blamed Barcelona's 1-1 draw at Granada in La Liga on Saturday on the 'lack of experience' of his many young players.

The big news for Barcelona is that they will finally be able to field Ferran Torres.

Having moved from Manchester City, they were only able to register him as their player this week after Samuel Umtiti signed a new deal that diluted his salary over a longer deal, freeing up funds to keep the financial regulators happy.

Barcelona have pinched every penny in order to sign the Spain and hope to see the fruits of their investment as he bounces back from a positive Covid-19 result.

Win tonight and Real Madrid will have won five on the bounce against their feircest rivals. And you wouldn’t bet against them. France forward Karim Benzema made his way into the upper echelons of Real Madrid’s goalscoring maestros, scoring his 300th and 301st goals against Valencia.

Ancelloti’s team have not been at their ferocious best this season, but with the competition in Spain lacking, mediocrity may just be enough.

Barcelona come into this game clinging onto the scraps of their season. They are a distant sixth in the league, crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in two decades and are struggling to make ends meet financially.

They have racked up the last six games without a loss but only managed one clean sheet in the last nine. Tonight's match could prove pivotal.

Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy, Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr. Subs from: Lunin, Vallejo, Hazard, Marcelo, Valverde, Jovic, Lucas, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Isco, Camavinga.

Ter Stegen, Pique, Araujo, Alves, L. De Jong, Alba, Busquets, Gavi, Dembele, F. De Jong, Torres. Subs from: Riqui, Depay, Fati, Neto, Lenglet, Pedri, Mingueza, Pena, Nico, Jutgla, Ez Abde.

Welcome to our live coverage as the Supercopa de Espana gets going tonight with an El-Clasico match up between Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s the third year of the re-jigged format and a relocation to Riyadh as Copa del Rey champions Barcelona take on La Liga’s runners up.

It’s the second time the teams will meet this season and since Real Madrid ran out 2-1 winners in October, the two have been on very different trajectories. Madrid are soaring in the league and went five points clear at the weekend while Barcelona are scrambling for form - and extra cash.

Still a cup game is a one off, and new manager Xavi Hernandez will be hoping to set the tone against his old rivals.

Kick off at 19:00 GMT.