Football: Rayo not afraid of trip to face Barcelona

Rayo Vallecano midfielder Roberto Trashorras has said that Barcelona's 4-0 demolition of AC Milan on Tuesday won't have any impact on how his low-profile side try to play when they travel to the Camp Nou on Sunday.

Barca's return to form came at exactly the right time as they progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for a sixth consecutive season after a disappointing couple of weeks in which they lost to Real Madrid twice and only just sneaked past Sevilla and Deportivo La Coruna at home in the league.

However, Trashorras believes the Catalans' league form this season has been imperious throughout, as their 13-point lead at the top of the table demonstrates.

"To play against Barca in their stadium is always difficult no matter the results they have had recently. The victory in the Champions League will give them a lift, but their numbers this season are there to be seen," he told Rayo's website.

"We won't have more respect for them due to what happened in midweek. We are facing one of the best teams in the world, but our intention is to go there and win, without having any fear or any inferiority complex."

Despite having the lowest budget in the league, Rayo are remarkably in the fight for the final Champions League place as they lie just three points off Real Sociedad in fourth.

But it is for their passing style that they have attracted so many plaudits this season and Trashorras insists they will not simply let Barca have possession as most sides that visit the Camp Nou do.

"It is going to be very difficult but we have to try and make Barca suffer, we are going to try and take the ball from them. It is our way of playing, it is our idea and we are not going to change. We didn't change at the Bernabeu and we are not going to do so in Barcelona."

The hosts could make a few changes after the demands of Tuesday and will certainly be without Xavi who has been ruled out with a thigh strain, whilst Victor Valdes serves the second of his four-game league ban for abusing a referee.

Real Madrid meanwhile will try to apply some pressure to Barca on Saturday by cutting the gap to 10 points when they host in-form Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Islanders seemed certainties for relegation just two weeks ago but back-to-back victories over Granada and Sevilla have brought them back to within two points of safety.

Midfielder Fernando Tissone believes that they have to try and keep their hot streak going, despite the challenge that faces them this weekend.

"In football you have runs of form. We have had a very long negative run, now we are on a short positive one and we have to try and maintain it," he told Mallorca's website.

"We need to try and take point from Madrid as we do in all the games that remain between now and the end of the season. It is difficult to know where you can cause them problems because they are in a great moment and it is a team that make very few errors, but they are human, they are just 11 players like we are."

Jose Mourinho is expected to continue his rotation policy for league games in recent weeks by recalling Fabio Coentrao, Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos, but Angel di Maria remains out injured and Iker Casillas won't be involved despite returning to training this week.

Friday

Deportivo La Coruna v Celta Vigo

Saturday

Real Sociedad v Valladolid, Getafe v Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid v Mallorca, Valencia v Real Betis

Sunday

Malaga v Espanyol, Sevilla v Real Zaragoza, Osasuna v Atletico Madrid, Granada v Levante, Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano

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