Guardiola Wants Respect For Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola has refused to become involved in the hype surrounding Barcelona's chances of winning el Clásico on Saturday evening and thinks that Real Madrid will be on form.

The Blaugrana boss wants his side to show Los Merengues respect in a game that many are predicting the hosts will win easily in Camp Nou and warned against over-confidence.

Despite the poor results and absentees, Madrid will still be a force to be reckoned with and Barça should not believe all the talk coming from the media, Guardiola explained.

“I do not deny that there is a feeling that we can beat Real Madrid,” he said. “But we must not forget that it is the current league champions we are playing and they will be looking to defend their trophy, meaning that we will not beat by five or six goals.

"The game starts goalles and we will see what happens after that. The key of the game is that all the players are focussed on the game, on their work, on everything that we have done until now and that has carried us to first place.

“We have to play, play, play. I want to transmit that to the team. I hope that there are no feelings of revenge among the players after what happened at the Santiago Bernabéu last season. That is in the past and will not help us at all.

“I am sure that we will see the best Madrid possible. The injuries will not make them any less dangerous. At Real Madrid there are no second level players, they are all very good.

"I expect to see a great team and I would like the fans to recognise that. We need the support of the Camp Nou and that, like the team, the fans go out and try to help us win the game from the first minute.”

Guardiola also put out a hand to cross the divide and heaped praise on his old friend Raúl and stated that the striker is the figurehead of the visiting team.

“He is a shining example,” the coach said. “When the team has someone to look to like him that makes the team stronger. But Barça have similar players.”

Lucas Brown, Goal.com