Barcelona manager Hans-Dieter Flick says his side must concentrate on their own performance rather than the potential impact of Sunday’s Atletico de Madrid v Real Madrid derby on the La Liga title race.
Barcelona could extend their advantage at the top by winning on Saturday, with Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid meeting the following day. However, Flick said he was not looking beyond his team’s own fixture.
“We need to focus on ourselves. We simply want to win tomorrow’s match,” he said.
Flick was also asked whether Barcelona could maintain their current level of performance through a demanding run of matches.
“Recovery is very important,” the German said. “We need to manage playing time properly. We have a lot of matches – we need to play well and recover well.”
Barcelona will travel to face Sevilla on 19 September.