Guardiola fired up for Sevilla battle

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has voiced his excitement ahead of his side’s clash with Sevilla at the Nou Camp on Saturday.

Sevilla are just two points behind the Spanish champions after seven league games this season and Guardiola has warned his players not to underestimate the Andalusians.

“Sevilla are great. They are trained to win every match and in all circumstances. This is a good test to see how good we are,” the Catalan boss said during a press conference on Friday.

“They are very strong, their coach has shown that he is a master of defensive tactics. They have a lot of firepower up front. After Madrid, they are the strongest counter-attacking team in the league.”

Barcelona will be boosted by Cesc Fabregas’ return to fitness for the clash, and Guardiola has voiced his happiness at having the former Arsenal skipper at his disposal once again.

“Cesc’s gestures since joining the squad have been great, we are very happy with his arrival. He has trained well in the last few days, but we have other options in (Andres) Iniesta and Thiago (Alcantara).”

Guardiola also praised the current crop of players at Camp Nou.

“The current generation of players at the club is unique. There will be no new Xavi or Iniesta. Xavi will be a difficult player to replace, not just on the pitch. Off it, Xavi is also important,” he said.

“We cannot forget what Raul did with the national team and Real Madrid, but without a doubt Xavi is among the best.”

Barcelona have won all four of their league matches at the Nou Camp, scoring 21 goals in the process.