FC Barcelona vs Deportivo : Match preview

FC Barcelona vs Deportivo : Match preview

A remarkable loss of form, triggered by the unexpected defeat to rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico at the very beginning of the month, has seen the Catalan giants Barcelona lose their last three La Liga games in a row and exit the Champions League as well.

FC Barcelona vs Deportivo : Match preview

The wretched run, having previously enjoyed a staggering 39-game unbeaten streak, has seen Barcelona’s convincing nine-point lead at the top of La Liga evaporate consequently.

Only a superior head-to-head record now keeps them ahead of their Champions League conquerors Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid remaining just a point further back.

Barcelona’s worst run of league losses for a long span of 13 years has the Madrid clubs scenting blood, but Enrique was in a rather bullish mood at his pre-match press conference before Wednesday’s Barcelona vs Deportivo La Coruna encounter, when he credited his past upbringing in the northern Spanish city of Gijon with his familiar fighting spirit.

“You might find that strange – some people enjoy winning more; I like these kind of challenges. They motivate me. You can’t imagine how I feel going into tomorrow’s game and how thrilled we will be if we break this run”, Enrique said.

Despite Barcelona’s current indifferent pattern of run, Enrique remains content with his players’ form.

“There is not one solution, it is the sum of a number of different factors that have accumulated,” he said.

“Against Valencia it was quite unfair that we lost that game because we were clearly the superior side.”

With the title race now blown wide open for the rivals, Deportivo forward Lucas Perez thinks his side will effectively determine who goes on to win the league. They host FC Barcelona on Wednesday night and have Real Madrid visit them on the final day of the season.

“We can decide La Liga. The destination will be told,” Perez told FourFourTwo.com.

“I knew the league would be decided in May. A lot of people said it was already won, but it is a long season.”