While Barcelona continue to enjoy the mood surrounding another successful league campaign, things look very different for Deportivo Alaves ahead of their upcoming meeting.
For Alaves, survival is still the priority, and manager Quique Sanchez Flores knows his side is heading into one of their toughest challenges of the season against a Barcelona team that has set the standard in Spain.
Speaking ahead of the match, the Alaves coach made it clear that his players cannot afford anything less than a perfect performance if they want to compete with the Catalan giants.
“We need to read the game well because we’re up against the best team in the Spanish league.
“Barcelona will field their strongest side, and we’ll have to give 200% to make this a night to remember.”
Not expecting sympathies from Barcelona
Sanchez Flores does not expect Barcelona to slow down despite already having reasons to celebrate this season.
In fact, he believes Hansi Flick’s side will approach the match with the same intensity and aggression that has made them one of Europe’s most dangerous teams this year.
Quique Sanchez Flores has not thrown in the towel yet. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
“We expect that, however they play, they’ll be very good. They’ll stick to their system and be aggressive.
“They will undoubtedly dominate, and what we have to try to do is hurt them by capitalising on certain strengths that I think might unsettle them.”
There is clear respect from the Alaves camp towards Barcelona, but there is also a belief that they can create problems if they manage the game correctly.
Sanchez Flores wants his players focused entirely on their own performance rather than getting distracted by Barcelona’s starting XI or attitude heading into the clash.
“The only thing I can think about is what we can do, which is what depends on us.
“We have to put out of our minds anything that doesn’t depend on us, because all it will do is cloud our focus,” he concluded.
Source: AS
