Barca shed favourites tag

Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura does not consider his side favourites for the upcoming Copa del Rey clash at Real Madrid.

The Catalan side currently top La Liga with an 11-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid, while Jose Mourinho’s Real sit third, 15 points behind the leaders.

However, Roura does not believe the current standings of the two clubs should give his players a reason to become complacent.

“We still don’t feel we are the favourites,” he told reporters.

“This is a knockout fixture and there are two legs. There is no clear favourite.”

Lionel Messi put on another outstanding performance, scoring four goals during Barcelona’s 5-1 win against Osasuna on Sunday and Roura spoke about his delight at working with the Argentine on a daily basis.

“When you live and work alongside him, you take it all very calmly, but when you stop and think, you raise your hands in astonishment,” he said.

Roura also discussed his partnership with Barca coach Tito Vilanova, who is still undergoing treatment following a cancer relapse in December.

“We are in constant contact, and he sees the games. We talk about all the decisions to be made,” he said.

Barcelona meet Real at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.