Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 7y

Clasico win vital for Barcelona - Xavi, David Villa and Carles Puyol

Barcelona legends Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol and David Villa all fear a Clasico defeat against Real Madrid on Saturday could have severe consequences for the title hopes of Luis Enrique's side.

Back-to-back La Liga draws have seen Barca slip six points behind leaders Madrid, who remain unbeaten in all competitions this season.

It's of vital importance, therefore, that they don't fall further behind this weekend when the two sides clash at Camp Nou.

"Clasico games are different," Xavi said in an interview on Cadena Cope. "You can go in to them 20 points behind Real Madrid and still put in a great performance -- or the reverse.

"So it doesn't mean anything that Barca weren't good at Anoeta [in the draw against Real Sociedad]. Maybe there's more pressure on them, though, because they are six points behind in the table."

David Villa, meanwhile, hopes the game can provide a springboard for the Blaugrana to recover from their recent slump.

"Barca are depending on this Clasico to get over their recent dip," he told Diario Sport. "If they win everything changes. In football people think in the short-term.

"During the season all teams have dips in form and it's been Barca's turn to go through one recently, but I think they're favourites against Madrid because they're playing at home."

Puyol added: "The game is more urgent for Barcelona because while going nine points behind [Madrid] would not be definitive, it would leave them with very little room for error and make things complicated."

The retired centre-back singled out the return of captain Andres Iniesta as one of the keys to Barca cutting the gap on Madrid.

After over a month out of action with knee ligament damage, the midfielder has been back in training for over a month and Luis Enrique confirmed on Tuesday he's fully fit for this weekend's Clasico

"We are talking about one of the best players in the world and he's very important for Barcelona's style," Puyol added.

"It's not just what Andres does, either, but how things move around him. I'm delighted he's back."

Xavi echoed those comments, lauding the importance of his former midfield partner: "Iniesta is an important player for Barcelona. They say the team lacks control and pausa without him. He will give them that."

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