Philippe Coutinho: I'll be a Barça fan on Wednesday

The Brazilian Philippe Coutinho and the Barça Women player Alexia Putellas have given their thoughts on their respective teams current form during the presentation of the MIC tournament in Barcelona. The Barça midfielder and number 14 is ineligible for Wednesday’s game against Chelsea but he has the utmost confidence in his team mates. “On Wednesday the team will win,” said the Brazilian before adding that he will be in the stands as just ‘another fan’.

The midfielder once again showed his gratitude to team mate Ousmane Dembélé for the assist provided for Coutinho’s goal in the 2-0 away win at Málaga on Saturday. The Brazilian knows the English opposition well from his days in the Premier League with Liverpool but is confident that Barça will able to impose their style on Chelsea with the first goal being ‘key’.

Barça Women’s Alexia Putelles also gave her thoughts on the team’s situation after their recent 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid. Fran Sánchez’s team are still a point ahead of their main rivals in the league but for Alexia “eight important game remain and we can’t make a mistake.” The striker also recognised that the level in the league ‘had gone up’ this season and that any team could cause them problems in the remainder of the campaign.