Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has insisted that his team are not the favourites for Saturday's El Clasico.

The league leaders are currently 11 points clear of fourth-placed Real Madrid in La Liga having made an unbeaten start to the 2017-18 campaign.

Valverde, however, has claimed that "the league table does not matter" in games between the rival clubs, and the Catalan outfit's boss is expecting a very tough fixture at the Bernabeu.

"We are not the favourites and in these games, the league table does not matter," Valverde told reporters. "Real Madrid are a very strong time and we will have to be alert throughout the match and ready for any scenarios, it is a massive challenge for us.

"This is a huge game, as we all are aware of but we want to come out to win this game, to extend our unbeaten streak and to do this by playing a good game in our style of football."

Barcelona recorded a 3-2 victory in the corresponding league game at the Bernabeu last season.