Ernesto Valverde: 'Barcelona not favourites for El Clasico'

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has insisted that his team are not the favourites for Saturday's El Clasico.

The league leaders are currently 11 points clear of fourth-placed Real Madrid in La Liga having made an unbeaten start to the 2017-18 campaign.

Valverde, however, has claimed that "the league table does not matter" in games between the rival clubs, and the Catalan outfit's boss is expecting a very tough fixture at the Bernabeu.

"We are not the favourites and in these games, the league table does not matter," Valverde told reporters. "Real Madrid are a very strong time and we will have to be alert throughout the match and ready for any scenarios, it is a massive challenge for us.

"This is a huge game, as we all are aware of but we want to come out to win this game, to extend our unbeaten streak and to do this by playing a good game in our style of football."

Barcelona recorded a 3-2 victory in the corresponding league game at the Bernabeu last season.