The traditional season opener in Spain will see Real Madrid host Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup first leg, with both sides clearly looking to get one over their rivals before the start of the league campaign.

Los Blancos added some more quality players to their star-studded squad this summer, with Nuri Sahin, Fabio Coentrao, Raphael Varane, Hamit Altintop and Jose Callejon increasing competition for places.

However, it was Karim Benzema who proved to be the biggest gain in pre-season, as the French forward finally showed his undoubted potential and made the centre forward position his own.

Jose Mourinho’s side were absolutely amazing in pre-season, winning all seven friendly games, and they are now 2.40 (7/5) with Paddy Power to continue the winning run.

The Portuguese boss should be able to count on Sergio Ramos, who is recovering from a back problem, but Esteban Granero and Nuri Sahin remain sidelined.

Mourinho has just one dilemma regarding the look of his starting line-up, with Angel Di Maria and Fabio Coentrao vying for a place on the right wing.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo – Xabi Alonso, Khedira – Coentrao, Ozil, Ronaldo – Benzema.

Coming on the back of another very successful season, Barcelona are looking to continue their domestic and European dominance, and what better way to start a new season than a victory over fierce rivals.

The Catalans have produced quite a coup by signing Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez, and with Cesc Fabregas set to return to Camp Nou, Pep Guardiola will again have a magnificent squad at his disposal.

His biggest problem will be to accommodate all those amazing players, especially with Thiago Alcantara already showing a lot of promise.

Barca were far from impressive in pre-season, mostly because Pep Guardiola couldn’t count on his key players, but I have no doubts that the Catalans will be back to their best once the competitive games start.

Oddly enough, Barcelona are priced at 3.00 (2/1) with William Hill to win at Santiago Bernabeu, so there is a great value in betting on away win.

Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique should start after recovering from injury, but Sergio Busquets remains injury doubt.

Lionel Messi is likely to play some part even though he hasn’t featured in any of the pre-season games, while Ibrahim Afellay, Carles Puyol and Maxwell are carrying minor knocks.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Valdez – Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal – Xavi, Thiago, Iniesta – Sanchez, Villa, Pedro.