Luis Enrique says there is "a league title in play" when Barcelona take on Cordoba

Barcelona play on Saturday against Cordoba, a game which Luis Enrique says "has a league title in play. It's taken many months fighting to get to this stage. I hope that the team gives the same intensity it has done all season. There's no doubt that we can show it."

The coach is unsure about whether Cordoba's position at bottom of the table may make for a trickier opponent or not. "They have little room for manoeuvre to stay in the top flight, that’s what the table says, but I’m sure they’ll cause us problems," said Enrique. “They are in big trouble and that can have a liberating effect. I am convinced it will be tough. The players know that when the referee blows both sides are in the same position, no credit in the bank.”

He also did not like the idea that Barcelona have improved as the season has progressed. He said: "I don’t think we’ve gone from being bad to being good. There have been favourable games, some not so much so. We’ve played well, we’ve played poorly, and we’ve been average... it's normal over the course of a season."

Enrique compared the season to one of his passions, running, and put off the idea of any celebrating. He said: "It's like a marathon, we are arriving at the 40th kilometre and we start to walk. Until we reach the goal and achieve our objectives, we cannot say anything. The objective of Barcelona is to win titles and we have not reached that yet. We have hte option, and we will see if we are capable."