Xavi promises 'valiant football' against Real Madrid

One sleep until the Clásico! One of the most important games of this and every season, where "victory would be a huge boost for our morale" in the words of manager Xavi Hernández, speaking at his pre-game press conference.

Excitement mounting

"Everyone wants to play in El Clásico and that's fantastic for a manager" he said, explaining that he knows the squad is suffering from injuries, but is still hoping that some of them will be OK to play tomorrow.

However, he is insisting that no matter how much they want to play, "only those who are 100% fit will get picked." Winning a Clásico is fantastic, but losing one can be extremely costly, so "although expectations are good, I'll be announcing the squad on the day itself to give us time to decide who should be on the list and who shouldn't."

Whoever is named, they'll need to perform to the very best of their ability because "winning this game would be a huge boost for our confidence because it would move us ahead of them in the table."

Clásico keys

Xavi didn't want to reveal too much about his plans for the game, but naturally the idea is to go out and win, "for which I have a lot of different options to deal with such a difficult opponent as Madrid".

"We'll need to be careful against their powerful forward line, but I'd never change our system or style of play. We'll go out and attack and take brave risks."

"As always, there is no favourite in a Clásico, it's totally unpredictable. Both sides have a 50% chance of winning."

Expecting 100%

"The fans won't let us down" he added. "They get full marks this season. They are getting behind us and we hope they enjoy the match."

Being at the Estadi Olímpic rather than Spotify Camp Nou shouldn't make any difference, Xavi saying that "the players are very comfortable in the Olympic Stadium. The important thing is to keep their emotions in check and be strong."

"The players who came out of our youth system are a great weapon for making everyone in the squad realise just what an important game this is. They have been feeling the Barça colours since they were little and they know just how much tomorrow's game matters."