FCBARCELONA.CAT

28.11.2008 11:39

Palop: “Barça will win the league”

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Andrés Palop believes that FC Barcelona are the favourites to win the league this season. The Sevilla goalkeeper also said that playing against his former team-mates, Dani Alves and Seydou Keita will be strange.

Speaking to Sevilla’s official television channel, Palop stated that he sees the Blaugrana as the team most likely to win the championships because their level of play is above everyone else’s. “I believe that Barça will win the league because of the great football that they have been playing,” he explained. “Real Madrid will probably finish in second place, while we will be third and Valencia will be fourth.”

Alves and Keita

Looking ahead to the visit of Pep Guardiola’s team to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Saturday, Palop admitted that facing Alves and Keita for the first time since they left Sevilla will be an odd experience. “I am looking forward to facing them,” he said. “I always like taking on the best players in the world, even though it will be a bit strange to see them in a shirt that is not Sevilla’s. I hope that they do not have a good day on Saturday, but I wish them all the best from Sunday onwards.”

Xavi is the best

Palop was keen to highlight the quality of Barça’s star and picked out Xavi Hernández as one player to watch. “He is the alma mater of the team,” the keeper stated. “He is the complete player as he dominates games from the midfield. Of the great players that Barça have I think he is the best, without doubt.”