(Reuters) – 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.”
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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