Luis Enrique has urged his Barcelona players to keep tabs on Athletic Bilbao's 'dominant' players ahead of their trip to San Mames on Sunday.
La Blaugrana head into the match in the Basque Country knowing that a win will close the gap on leaders Real Madrid, who were defeated 4-0 by Atletico Madrid on Saturday, but the Coach insists he only has eyes for his own team.
"Given that we know our opponents, their coach and their style of play, they're a tough team, who press and are good in the air. They can make life difficult for us in many aspects," he said at a Press conference.
"Playing away from home is difficult in every way. This enhances [our opponents'] qualities and they can make life difficult for us. We're aware of this.
"One of the keys is to have the ball on their ground. They have players who can dominate the game – [Aymeric] Laporte, [Aritz] Aduritz, [Mikel] San Jose – but we'll counter their game as we've done previously this season.
"I care about what our rivals get up to, but I don't preoccupy myself on one match or another. Surprises may be in store. The smaller teams did it last year and it can happen again.
"San Mames is usually a carpet, which suits them, and the grass is good. European competitions require a lot of our rivals.
"I'm a very big fan of Athletic's game, they've improved in recent games and will [show their improvement again] against Barca. They've tightened up and secure [at the back]."
"There will be surprises during the season, of course. I'd like to know when teams will slip up, but I can't foresee that. Teams from the lower reaches of the table play harder towards the end of the season.
"The team are constantly evolving. Sure there will be bad games, but clearly we're in a good spell. Hopefully, the bad times won't come, but we'll certainly grit our teeth. "
