Ancelotti: Everyone thinks Barcelona is the Clasico favorite

Posted Saturday, October 26, 2013 by YAHOO Sport

Carlo Ancelotti feels that Barcelona is heading into this Saturday's Clasico as the favorite, and that could work to Real Madrid's advantage.

Barca is on top of La Liga after dropping just two points from its first nine games, but the Catalan giants have not beaten Madrid in the league since December 2011, and the Italian is determined to extend that run this weekend.

"I do not know who is the favorite. Everybody thinks that is Barcelona and for us this is not bad," Ancelotti said. "The timing is good for us. The match is very difficult but last week was good and we improved a lot in all aspects. We can do well in the Camp Nou.

"I have confidence in them. The last time they played at Camp Nou (a 3-1 victory in the Copa del Rey in February) was a great game. We are very excited. The key is to have courage and personality to play football, not only to defend. We need character to go to Barcelona and try to play."

Ancelotti also ruled out making any special plans for Neymar.

"We cannot think of a plan to rein in Neymar because if there is one for him, we must have others for [Lionel] Messi, Alexis [Sanchez] and [Andres] Iniesta," he added.