Xavi fears 'really difficult trip'

La Liga is back tomorrow, with FC Barcelona set to visit Rayo Vallecano in a 2pm CET kick-off. Xavi Hernández faced the media this Friday, discussing such matters as the absences of Ter Stegen and Gavi.

Tough opponent

"Rayo are a very vertical side who attack in transition and are very strong on the counter attack" he said. After losing twice, drawing once and never beating them, Xavi is well aware that Saturday's opposition is "a very intense team who are very uncomfortable opponents at their own ground, it's a really difficult trip."

Missing players

As for Gavi's absence, Xavi said "I had a similar experience and it actually made me a better player. It made me realise how much I had to look after myself. It's hard to get a knee back into shape, and it's important not to skip a single day of your recovery. It may have been an unfortunate accident, but we have a very demanding fixture list and that's the main reason why so many players are getting injured."

As for Ter Stegen, he confirmed that he will not be playing. "Iñaki Peña will play" he said. "But he's ready and has my absolute confidence. He has been training hard."

Big games ahead

Christmas is not far away but Xavi won't be thinking about that quite yet. As well as Porto in the Champions League, there are games with Atlético Madrid and Girona just around the corner. "It would be nice to get us back in the mood we were in three or four games ago" said the coach. "From there, I'm sure we'll go on to get the results we're looking for"