Flick urges caution against Alaves

BENGALURU:

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has urged caution ahead of their LaLiga clash against lowly Alaves on Sunday after a turnaround in form for the visitors under new coach Eduardo Coudet.

Alaves, who are 17th and just a point above the relegation zone, have lost only once in six league games since Coudet took over in December and Barca, who trail leaders Real Madrid by seven, cannot afford to drop any more points.

"We want to win. To do that, we will have to defend because we also want a clean sheet," Flick told reporters on Saturday. "We have to be very cautious because in the last three games out of five they scored in the first 15 minutes."

Barcelona have not kept a clean sheet in their last six matches in a busy calendar, and had a four-match winless streak in the league before last month's 7-1 win over Valencia. "If you're five or 10 percent below what you need to be, you can't win. Everyone is fighting to stay in LaLiga and that's why we have to make it clear from the start how good Barca are. That's what I always want," Flick added.

The coach said Inigo Martinez, who suffered a hamstring injury last month, will be back for Sunday's game as Barcelona battle to catch up with Real. "The situation is our fault. We have lost a lot of points," Flick said. "We have to win games one after the other to put pressure on Madrid. With seven points it's not easy, but we will keep fighting."

Meanwhile, after 12 victories in 14 matches across all competitions, Real Madrid are determined to keep the momentum rolling when they face lowly Espanyol in LaLiga, manager Carlo Ancelotti said on the eve of the match.

Real top the Spanish top-flight standings with 49 points from 21 games, four points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid and Ancelotti knows there is little room for error if they are to retain the LaLiga title.

"We're better than we were in December," said Ancelotti. REUTERS