Ernesto Valverde insists he is unfazed by UEFA’s decision not to name any Barcelona players in its Champions League team of the week.
No Barca players were recognised by UEFA, despite their 3-0 win against Juventus on Tuesday, but Valverde made it clear he was only thinking about Saturday’s trip to Getafe in La Liga.
“Getafe are a dangerous team in terms of tactics, and for us it’s a good test,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“We’re testing ourselves against a team that are in a good way, and we expect it to be a complicated match.
“Rotations? It’s clear that throughout the season, we’ll need everyone. When the games are so close together, it’s clear that there may be changes.
“Vidal? I’m happy with him. It’s true that he hasn’t been in the squad for the last two games, but this may change.
“Real Madrid? We’re not worried about other teams, we’re interested in consolidating what we’re doing.
“Looking back at the first three or four games doesn’t make sense. We prefer to focus on what we can influence, rather than the others.
“Dembele? He’s getting better with each game. He started against Juve, we’ll see tomorrow. I know that every day, people ask about him because they have high hopes for him, but you have to give him time and hopefully he’ll fit in better.
“Dembele? I see him in a good way. It’s clear that he has have to adapt to a different style of play than the one he played before, but I don’t think he’s struck about playing alongside Messi.
“Rotating Messi and Suarez? We’ll see. Here, it’s all about winning. This team are already used to motivating themselves for every game.
“For me, and for all the players, we know that it’s an important day. It’s an extra source of motivation for us to be able to pick up these three points.
“No goals conceded or 12 scored more important? I don’t know. Both I guess!
“Rakitic, Iniesta and Busquets can’t be dropped? If there has to be any change, there will be.
“A month ago, after coming back from the US, we were feeling very good. After the Supercopa, we were very bad, but now we’re very good again.
“The style is the same but there’s still no baggage to draw conclusions.
“Past meetings with Getafe? They don’t mean anything. Tomorrow’s game is about to be written.
“Statistics are good to remember, but they tell you more about the past than the future.
“Overconfidence? I don’t know, but if I had to choose, I’d prefer to be in a situation of not losing games.
“We’ll try to explore ways of giving a good performance. We’ll see if the dream is sweet. Surprised that no Barca players were in the team of the week? We’re reserving them for this game.”
Getafe: Guaita; Damian, Djene, Cala, Antunes; Fajr, Markel, Arambarri, Amath; Shibasaki; Molina
Injuries/suspensions: Chuli, Gorosito, Manojlovic, Pacheco (I)
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Mascherano, Umtiti, Alba; Sergi Roberto, Paulinho, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Dembele
Injuries/suspensions: Arda, Ortola, Rafinha (I)
Referee: Fernandez Borbalan
Form guide: Getafe (W L D – -) Barcelona (W W W – -)
Previous meeting: Barcelona 6-0 Getafe
Kick-off time: 15:15 BST/16:15 CET (LIVE on Football Espana)
