Hansi Flick: 'We have to put a run of wins together'

La Liga returns after the excitement of the final round of matches in this season's revamped opening phase of the Champions League in midweek. The visitors are a Deportivo Alavés side who are battling against relegation with Hansi Flick's team looking for a win to take advantage of any possible slip ups from the two sides above them in the table, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid.

From the start

The German coach appeared before the press on Saturday ahead of the game in the Estadi Olímpic on Sunday, kick off 2pm CET. "If we drop 5-10%, we won't win because they are fighting to stay in the division. We have to show from the first minute that we are at 100%," said Flick of the game against Alavés. 

Return of Iñigo Martinez

Since new coach Eduard Coudet took over from the sacked Luis García Plaza, Alavés have only lost once in the last six matches. "We have to be careful because in three of the last five matches they have scored in the opening 10 minutes," warned Hansi Flick. The good news for the Barça coach is that one of the players on the injured is back fit: "Iñigo Martinez is available again," said the Barça coach after the Basque defender picked up an injury in early January in the Spanish Super Cup final. However, caution is the watchword for Dani Olmo who "still needs more time" in his recovery from injury. 

Put pressure on the leaders 

The return of the Basque defender will be boost for a Barça side who cannot afford to drop more points in the battle for the league title, especially at home. "It's the situation we are, we have dropped a lot of points. We have to put a run of wins together to put pressure on [Real] Madrid. Seven points behind is not easy but we will keep fighting," concluded the Barça boss.