Valverde: Barca are not favourites

Ernesto Valverde’s does not believe his side are favourites for El Clasico despite leading Real Madrid by three places and 11 points in La Liga.

The current Spanish and European champions have played one game less than the Catalan giants but a defeat on Saturday could leave them out of the title race this campaign.

“We are not the favourites and in these games, the league table does not matter,” Valverde told his pre-match press conference.

“Real Madrid are a very strong time and we will have to be alert throughout the match and ready for any scenarios, it is a massive challenge for us.

“This is a huge game, as we all are aware of but we want to come out to win this game, to extend our unbeaten streak and to do this by playing a good game in our style of football.

“Possession is important but that alone is not enough to win the game but we are aware Madrid like to play on the counter and we must know how to combat this.

“Both teams have extraordinary players who can decide the game but even if we win and make it a 14-point gap to Madrid, they will still be in the race – there is a long way to go.” 

Tags El Clasico Ernesto Valverde
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