Pochettino: Belief is key against Barcelona

Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino says his players will approach Sunday night’s derby against Barcelona confident of springing a surprise.

The hosts go into the game eighth on the La Liga table, 14 points behind their second-placed rivals.

Pochettino admits that trying to come up with a game plan to bring down Barca is a daunting task but he disagrees with Osasuna counterpart Jose Luis Mendilibar’s assertion that Pep Guardiola’s side are virtually unbeatable.

“You cannot win a game with this mindset,” the Espanyol coach said. “It is impossible.”

“For our part, we will go after them but with respect and modesty.”

Pochettino acknowledged that it is one thing talking the talking and quite another actually walking the walk.

“Everybody has a lot of theories or formulas for beating Barca, but the truth to bring these theories into practice is quite difficult,” he said.

Espanyol go into the game on the back of an embarrassing 2-1 defeat by Segunda B outfit Cordoba in the Copa del Rey.