Barcelona head coach Xavi admits his side face a potential banana skin on Saturday against La Liga rivals Las Palmas. (More Football News)
Xavi’s team return to action after the international break and are bidding to cut the gap to leaders Real Madrid to five points before their game at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Barca are unbeaten in 10 matches in all competitions but, when asked if there was a chance his side could slip up against 11th-placed Las Palmas, Xavi said: “Yes, especially because the (players) are coming back from the national teams.
“I’ve told them to forget about (the pressure). There are two trophies at stake and we’ve been competing very well over the previous two games, with excellent moments of play. It’s a very important match to keep fighting for La Liga.”
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Barca face Paris St Germain on April 10 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after beating Napoli 4-2 on aggregate in the last 16.
Xavi said he was grateful all his players had returned fit from international duty, adding: “(On Saturday) we play against an opponent that play very good football, they have personality, they don’t give balls away.
“They are a team with very Barca DNA, with technically-gifted players. It will be hard for us to get the ball from them. They come with little to lose and a lot to prove.”
Xavi hinted he will not be resting veterans Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan, who were involved in both matches for their respective countries Poland and Germany earlier this week.
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“I spoke with them (on Thursday) and (Friday) and they feel good. They will be ready for Las Palmas,” he said.
“They have accumulated a lot of minutes, but they will be ready. (Saturday) is not the ideal day to rest and even more so when we have 10 days until the next game.
“We have to get back into club mode. We’ve still got PSG to play. We have to focus on LaLiga because we want to fight for it and we think we can do it. We have to put pressure on Real Madrid.”
