Setien believes that El Calssico is not the deciding parameter to clinch the title

The Catalan manager who was appointed in December, Quique Setien, opined that  Zinedine Zidane managed Real Madrid’s bad patch across all competitions will have no impact on the El Classico. Also, Quique Setien believes that victory for any of the sides will have no impact on the La Liga title race. He also said that the victory for Barcelona doesn’t mean that Barcelona would be able to clinch the Spanish top-tier title of 2019/20.

Barcelona are two points clear of their arch-rivals Real Madrid and are heading to the El Classico at Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona comes into the fixture after a draw against the Italian side Napoli in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. Antonio Girezmann ended his goal drought and scored the crucial away goal for the Catalans.

On the other hand, Real Madrid have lost their past three games across all the competitions. Out of three games, Real Madrid have lost two against Levante and one against Pep Guardiola managed Manchester City. However, Setien doesn’t believe that Real Madrid are on the worst form and this poor form doesn’t mean that it is the end of the road for the title challenge.

Ahead of the crucial game against Real Madrid, Barcelona manager Quique Setien in the press conference said:

It could be a very important day,”

A win would give us a lead. I don’t know if that would be enough – I’m sure it wouldn’t.

“We see very strange things happen in football, but I don’t really trust form too much. In football, you put the past behind you. It’s the present that you’re rewarded on.

The manager also said that teams forget about the points and positions of the league table. He said that El Classico is very closest to the heart of the fans and players and they do give everything for their teams.

In a Clasico, people tend to forget about the points, positions in the tables. This is a Clasico where both teams always play as hard as they can regardless of the situation they’re in.

“I expect a very tightly contested game, very evenly matched. The question is who gets things right to win the game.

Setien went on to add that Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane have much pressure compared to that of the Barcelona side. He said that they are below Barcelona in the table and would look into these things. Quique Setien said:

For Madrid, it is a vital game – probably much more important than it is for us, because of the situation in the table at the moment and the amount of time that’s left.

“We could pick up a five-point lead, which would be a big step forward. It would leave them with a lot of ground to make up. I don’t like the word decisive, it’s certainly important.”

Setien won twice at the Santiago Bernabeu as a gaffer at Real Betis. He also expects those experiences to help him to gain victory in the weekend clash. When the manager was asked about his previous experiences coming into the foray, he opined:

Yes, of course. We’ve looked back at some of the games played before – the game Barca played last year, the game Betis played last year.

“You tried to pick out things that could be useful. We certainly want to play with a daring team tomorrow – Madrid will, I’m sure, do likewise. We are a team that always plays the way we do.

“I’ll do something similar to what I did with Betis and with Las Palmas, now with Barca. I like a daring team.

“Whether things work out, let’s wait and see. You have to remember that Madrid are a very, very good team. You might think they are not at their best at the moment, but I’m not trusting to that kind of thing.

“You need to be ready for games like this – when we’ve got the ball and when we do not.