No complacency for Barca

Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova believes his team are in no danger of becoming complacent ahead of the visit of Real Zaragoza.

La Liga leaders Barca secured a valuable 1-0 win away to third-placed Valencia on Wednesday and will be heavy favourites to beat Zaragoza at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Javier Aguirre’s side will be without a number of players through injury, but Vilanova insists Zaragoza – who are 15th in the table – will be no pushovers.

Zaragoza defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-1 in their last outing and also secured a 0-0 draw away to Sporting Gijon on February 26.

“You know my opinion,” Vilanova said.

“Every game is difficult … just because the opponent is missing players doesn’t make it easy. They can play well and have four points from their last six.”

“We have also just played against Valencia in a game that we were very up for. Like against Espanyol, when you put in so much effort there is fatigue. We saw that when we played Bilbao.”

“We are happy to have beaten Valencia, but the points are worth the same as winning against Zaragoza. In any case, it is good to go to a ground like Valencia’s and take all the points.”

Barca head coach Pep Guardiola was in significant discomfort during the Valencia match and was later admitted to hospital suffering from a spinal disc hernia.

It is not yet known whether he will recover sufficiently to take his place on the bench for Saturday’s match.

“I was able to speak with him. He is a bit better, but not fully recovered,” Vilanova said.

“The other day he was in a bad way, after the travel and the tension of the game.”