Ronald Koeman needs his whole Barcelona squad playing at their top level alongside Lionel Messi in Saturday's crucial Clasico, while he welcomed the return of Gerard Pique to his squad.
A patchy run of form from Atletico Madrid, in which the leaders in LaLiga have won only four of their past 10 top-flight matches, means Barca are only a point off top spot with Madrid just three back.
Saturday's contest, at Madrid's Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, could now have a huge bearing on the outcome of the title race in Spain this season.
Messi is the top scorer in El Clasico for all competitions (26) and in LaLiga (18) but has not scored in his previous six encounters against Madrid, matching his longest run without a goal in the fixture.
"Hopefully Messi will be decisive for us tomorrow," Koeman told a pre-match news conference.
"We need the best Messi, but above all we need the best Barca. And obviously we need Leo to have a good game, a good attack."
Barca's squad for the trip to Madrid has been boosted by the return of veteran centre-back Pique, who has been sidelined for just over a month since spraining his knee in the 3-0 win over Sevilla that secured a comeback 3-2 aggregate win in their Copa del Rey semi-final.
The versatile Sergi Roberto is also included in the squad having been out since February with a thigh issue.
"They are two important players due to their quality and personality," Koeman added.
"They lack rhythm but they are physically well, very excited to help the team, and it is important to have almost all the players available.
"For me, every player has to be in good physical and mental condition, so they all have a chance to play.
"Every player has to prove this, and my role will be to pick the 11 best players to start the match."
Barca have been on a sensational run in LaLiga, going unbeaten in 19 matches and winning 13 out of the past 14.
The last time these sides met, Madrid ran out 3-1 winners at Camp Nou and Los Blancos are aiming for a third straight win in this match for the first time since 1978 and a first LaLiga double since the 2007-08 campaign.
But Koeman insists the outcome of this game will not be decisive in determining the end-of-season outcome at the top of LaLiga.
"The result in principle is not decisive because there are still many games to go and it will be difficult to win every game," Koeman said.
"But it is true that the team that wins will see their morale increased.
"El Clasico is a different game from the others, there is always a lot of emotion. Barca are having a great season, with many points achieved that allows us to fight for La Liga, but Madrid is still Madrid and we have to respect them and be at our best.
"We have improved a lot from the last Clasico. Although in the last Clasico, we played well, in my opinion.
"We were better in the first half, but we lost in the second half with the intervention of the VAR. But we have improved in effectiveness."
Alcaraz crashes out of Paris Masters after defeat to Humbert
World number two Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the Paris Masters after an upset at the hands of 15th seed Ugo Humbert in the third round.
Alcaraz was aiming for a fifth title of the season in the French capital, but it was the world number 18 who emerged as 6-1 3-6 7-5 winner in two hours 17 minutes.
The Spaniard had no answer for Humbert in the first set, but fought back to level the proceedings in the second.
The third set was a tight affair, but it was 26-year-old Humbert who prevailed to take it 7-5 and reach the last eight at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Humbert, looking for his third title of the season, will next face Australia’s Jordan Thompson, who progressed to the quarter-final by defeating Adrian Mannarino.
Charlotte FC want justice in "most important game in their history," says Smith
Charlotte FC head into the “most important game in their history” with a chip on their shoulder, according to Dean Smith.
The Crown were defeated 2-0 away at Orlando City in game one of the playoffs and need a win in their first-ever home playoff match to keep their hopes of progress alive.
Smith was aggrieved after designated player (DP) Pep Biel was given his marching orders after 91 minutes for violent conduct and Charlotte’s appeal was rejected, leaving their forward suspended for the home encounter.
It is a situation that Smith hopes will galvanise his team and the home crowd alike, to get them over the line and set up a final decider back in Orlando.
“We’re excited for it, we’re looking forward to it. We feel aggrieved and I think the injustice that we as a team feel will make the club grow stronger,” he said.
“[Biel’s suspension] is a problem for our club because this is the biggest game in our history. We’re at home in front of our fans for a playoff game for the first time and we’ll be missing a DP.
“But we’ve done enough for me to know that we can hurt them, especially at home with our fans behind us.”
It is seemingly a consensus across the team that home advantage can provide the key to success against Orlando.
“It’s frustrating but, it could be over three games. They used their home advantage. It’s time for us to use ours on Friday. It’s a completely different game at the Bank,” said midfielder Ashley Westwood.
If Charlotte do manage to secure a win they’ll tie the series and set up a decider in Orlando, something Smith is not as keen about.
“The only problem in this result for us is that if we get the win as we want to do on Friday, we’ll have to be back at Orlando a week later,” he said.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Kristijan Kahlina
Nominated for MLS goalkeeper of the season, he will be crucial in maintaining Charlotte’s impressive home defensive record. They kept an MLS-high nine home clean sheets during the 2024 regular season.
Going back to the end of last season, Charlotte have kept clean sheets in 12 of its last 20 home matches in all competitions.
Kahlina has played all 35 of Charlotte’s MLS matches so far this season and boasts a save percentage of 75.6%, having kept 12 clean sheets.
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
The striker was on form in game one of the play-offs, bagging a goal in Orlando’s 2-0 win. He is Orlando’s top scorer this season with 15 goals.
He has the second-best shot conversion rate at Orlando (28.8%), and his distribution is just as vital to the visitors, having made 46 key passes this season – the second most on the team.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHARLOTTE FC WIN
The only ever away win in the eight all-time meetings between Charlotte FC and Orlando City was a 2-1 win by the Lions on their first visit to Charlotte in August 2022.
Since then, Charlotte are unbeaten in three home matches against Orlando City (W1 D2).
The Crown have lost just three of their last 28 home matches in all competitions dating back to June 2023 (W13 D12), the fewest home defeats by any MLS team in all competitions in that time.
However, if anyone can get a result away at Charlotte, it’s Orlando. They have won five of their last seven away matches (L2), including winning the last three in a row.
The Lions have scored three goals in each of their last three away games, something no team has ever done in four straight MLS matches (incl. playoffs).
Orlando have got the better of Charlotte of late, unbeaten in their last four MLS matches (Wins: 2 Draws: 2 Losses: 0).
Charlotte are looking for their first league win in encounters between the two sides since March 2023. Orlando have outscored Charlotte 7-3 during their unbeaten streak.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte FC – 36.8%
Draw – 26.3%
Orlando City – 36.9%
Leverkusen boss Alonso calls for defensive improvement
Xabi Alonso wants to see defensive improvements from Bayer Leverkusen, as he prepares for an "intense" game against Stuttgart.
Leverkusen, the Bundesliga champions, have already shipped 15 goals in the league this term.
They sit third, five points behind joint-leaders Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig and three ahead of eighth-placed Stuttgart ahead of Friday's clash.
Leverkusen have dropped nine points from winning positions in the Bundesliga this season, with only Wolfsburg worse off (11). They are the only team to have led in all eight of their league games this term (W4, D3, L1).
That is after Leverkusen did not squander a single point after taking the lead last season, and Alonso says there is plenty of room for improvement.
He said: "The last few games against Stuttgart have been really exciting.
"We are already feeling a good energy ahead of the game and we have prepared for the intensity that we expect. It’s a huge game.
"It's a big task for us to improve our defensive performance. We can score a lot of goals but we must not concede them.
"We hope to keep a clean sheet and we need to play well with and without the ball."
Stuttgart have not made a flying start to their Bundesliga campaign, though they have reeled off three straight wins in all competitions, including beating Juventus in the Champions League.
"There are a lot of emotions in these matches and Stuttgart are a strong team," said Alonso.
"They deserve their place in the Champions League."
Stuttgart have led in each of their five competitive games against Leverkusen under Sebastian Hoeness, but have not won any of them.
The last three meetings have seen Leverkusen score after the 88-minute mark.
Despite their iffy form this season, the defending champions have lost just one of their last 42 Bundesliga games (W32, D9).
They have picked up the most points in the league by far since the start of last term (105), followed by Bayern (92), Leipzig and Stuttgart (both 85).
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