Barcelona are eyeing their third FIFA Club World Cup title on Sunday when they take on River Plate at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday.
Barcelona went past Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande comfortably, thrashing them 3-0 in the semi finals of the Club World Cup.
On the other hand, River Plater defeated Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 to sneak into the final of the tournament.
River Plate are the Copa Libertadores champions, having lifted the trophy earlier this year. The South American club have been expecting this encounter for quite some time. Even though they have reached the final, they now have a mountainous task ahead if they want to lift the coveted trophy on Sunday in front of a capacity crowd in Yokohama.
River Plate have not been in the greatest form, having finished ninth in the Argentinian league. They won the semi final against Hiroshima by a narrow margin with the help of a Lucas Alario goal which came in the final quarter of the game.
"When you look back and try to copy-paste an idea, it is not so easy in football because you can lose your way very quickly. All coaches in the world would like to play like [Pep] Guardiola's Barcelona, but trying to imitate it is difficult," River Plate head coach Marcelo Gallardo told mediapersons on Saturday.
The Spanish Giants on the other hand have a golden opportunity to lift their fourth trophy of 2015. Having won the UEFA Champions League, Copa Del Rey and the La Liga earlier this year, Luis Enrique and his men will be eyeing the Club World Cup title as well.
"Overall, we played a very complete game [against Guangzhou Evergrande]. We don't know if we'll be able to count on Messi or Neymar. They don't know if they'll be ready and neither do we, so we'll have to see," Enrique told reporters at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
Expected lineups:
Barcelona: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
River Plate: Barovero; Mercado, Maidana, Balanta, Vangioni; Sanchez, Kranevitter, Ponzio, Mayada; Mora, Alario.
Where to Watch Live
The FIFA Club World Cup final - Barcelona vs River Plate is scheduled for a 4 pm IST (7.30 pm local time, 10.30 am GMT, 5.30 am ET) start.
India: TV: Neo Prime and Neo Sports.
Spain: TV: Telecinco Espana.
China: TV: PPTV Sports, CCTV 5 and Guangdong Sports.
Japan: TV: NTV.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports 4. Live streaming: Foxtel.
South America: TV: Fox Sports. Live stream: Fox Sports Play.
USA: TV: Fox Sports 1. Live stream: FoxSoccer2Go.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet. Live streaming: Watch Sportsnet.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: Bein Sports Arabia 12 HD and beIn Sports Arabia 1 HD. Live stream: Bein Sports Connect.
