adminMADRID. — Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has insisted they can turn around their poor away form and put themselves right back in the Spanish La Liga soccer title race by beating leaders Real Madrid tomorrow.
The Catalans currently lie in third, four points adrift of Real, having won just one of their last five away games in La Liga.
However, Iniesta believes the Spanish champions showed in their two recent games against Manchester City in the Champions League that they are still capable of beating anyone on their day.
“We have had bad days, like everyone, but no one can think that Madrid will beat us easily,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
“It is difficult to think that there are Barca fans that don’t believe in us. This team has won the right to believe in it no matter what the situation is.”
Barca boss Gerardo Martino will have the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose from and looks set to name the side that started the home leg against City for just the second time all season.
That means Neymar and Cesc Fabregas will return after being rested for last weekend’s 7-0 win over Osasuna with Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez, who struck the winner the last time Barca met Real back in October, dropping to the bench.
And Iniesta is urging his teammates to impose themselves on the game rather than being cowed by the atmosphere at the Bernabeu.
“We need to play a perfect game because that is what the opponent will demand of us, but we are capable of doing so.
“More than thinking about them, we need to think about ourselves. We need to be Barca, to be brave. If we are not then it won’t go well for us. When things have gone well, it is because we have played like that.”
Madrid haven’t been beaten in 31 games in all competitions since the two sides met at the Camp Nou.
That run has allowed Carlo Ancelotti’s men to overtake Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, whilst also progressing to the Copa del Rey final and the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
However, the Italian stressed they too have to be at their best to all but kill off Barcelona’s title chances.
“We are in good form and desperate for the game to come around. We know it will be difficult and against a great team,” said Ancelotti.
“Since the game in the first half of the season we have improved a lot. We will need to be at our best, though, as you need to be at 100 percent to beat Barcelona.”
Fixtures
Today: Granada v Elche (5pm), Espanyol v Levante (7pm), Valladolid v Rayo Vallecano (9pm), Athletic Bilbao v Getafe (11pm)
Tomorrow: Osasuna v Sevilla (1pm), Real Betis v Atletico Madrid (6pm), Valencia v Villarreal (8pm), Real Madrid v Barcelona (10pm)
Monday: Almeria v Real Sociedad (11pm)
Spanish La Liga table
P W D L F A Pts
Real Madrid 28 22 4 2 77 26 70
Atletico Madrid 28 21 4 3 64 21 67
Barcelona 28 21 3 4 81 22 66
Athletic Bilbao 28 15 7 6 51 32 52
Real Sociedad 28 13 7 8 49 39 46
Villarreal 28 13 6 9 48 34 45
Sevilla 28 12 8 8 51 43 44
Valencia 28 10 6 12 39 39 36
Espanyol 28 10 6 12 32 34 36
Levante 28 9 9 10 26 35 36
Celta Vigo 28 9 6 13 33 39 33
Granada 28 9 4 15 27 39 31
Elche 28 7 9 12 24 40 30
Malaga 28 7 8 13 26 36 29
Osasuna 28 8 5 15 24 48 29
Rayo Vallecano 28 9 2 17 32 62 29
Getafe 28 7 7 14 26 45 28
Valladolid 28 5 11 12 30 48 26
Almeria 28 7 5 16 27 52 26
Real Betis 28 4 7 17 23 56 19
— AFP.
Online Reporter