Guardiola relishing Real encounter

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is expecting two exciting matches when they face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-1 on Thursday night to secure a 6-1 win on aggregate in their last-16 clash to book their ticket for the final eight of the competition and will now have to deal with the defending champions if they are to reach the semi-finals.

The first leg of the quarter-final takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu on January 18.

“Real Madrid are a great rival. The quarter-finals will be great and exciting for the spectators. Both Barca and Madrid are teams that, no matter what competition we are playing in, always try to win,” Guardiola said.

However, the Barcelona boss stressed that the outcome of the cup tie won’t have any effect on the La Liga title race.

“It seems as though whatever the result is, the world will end. However, whether we progress or not, the games in La Liga are assured. When you play against rivals like Madrid the possibilities of winning or losing are always there,” he said.

“If we were five points ahead, we’d go into this tie to win it just as we will go to win it being five points behind, just like Real Madrid would.”