‘Barca have 12 title deciders’

Luis Enrique has emphasised the importance of Barcelona’s 12 La Liga ‘title deciders’, starting against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

The Catalans can move top of the table with a victory over Los Franjirrojos in Week 26, following Real Madrid’s defeat by Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, but the Coach refused to take Paco Jemez’s troops lightly.

“It will be an attractive game. Rayo are one of the teams in La Liga with the most personality,” he said at a Press conference.

“You know what they’ll do and how they’ll play. It’s one of the few games in which they can vie for possession with us. I’m looking forward to it.

“With the injury to [Sergio] Busquets, we still have several options, but I’m not going to reveal [who will start]: [Javier] Mascherano, [Ivan] Rakitic, Sergi Roberto…

“I won’t speak of the controversy [regarding the Copa del Rey final venue], only that it’ll be played at a football stadium.

“At the moment, we’re only interested in La Liga and the Champions League. We won’t think about the Copa until four or five days before the final.

“The key will be treating each game as a potential title decider.

“I like Paco [Jemez] as a Coach. I didn’t know that a no-nonsense centre-back could be the makings of such a top-class Coach.

“Few teams have as much ambition as Rayo Vallecano, despite their low budget. Paco is one of the best Coaches in the division.

“The schedule is the same for both teams. [Playing at midday] changes everything. Instead of training, we’ll be playing.

“[Pedro Rodriguez] has some characteristics of a difference-maker. He gives us depth [in attack] and has a goal in him.

“He’s always ready to compete. He’s a top-class player and we’d like to give him more minutes.

“[On Paul Pogba speculation], I don’t talk about assumptions or rumours.

“[Regarding the recent match-fixing stories], for the good of everyone, it would be nice to get everything out in the open.”

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La Liga - Club News