Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola says his side are well prepared for El Clasico but have the utmost respect for Real Madrid.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Sunday's game Guardiola stressed that it was his number one priority.

The coach commented "This game is a priority for me - there is nothing more important for us. We've prepared it very thoroughly and the line up against Kiev hasn't come into my reckoning".

Tuesday's impressive win against Inter Milan in the Champions League may have shown what the team are capable of, but Guardiola was taking nothing for granted.

"The players know why we won that game and we have to maintain that tone and ambition. However we can't say that just because we played well against Inter we'll win easily on Sunday.

"People say we are playing better and more attractively than them, but they are ahead of us in the table" he added.

As regards Madrid, Guardiola expressed clearly his respect for Pellegrini's team “he makes controlling possession important and he wants to dominate. They are a very well organised team, they use the counter attack well to match the characteristics of their players.

"They've conceded just four goals on the road so far in the league and that's not a bad statistic. I've seen a lot of their games and I don't think they look bad at all – they are very good and that's why they are leaders at the moment”.

Guardiola also insisted that the two victories his side recorded last year will have little bearing on the game.

"That was different and we were in a better situation. I expect us to see both teams coming out to attack, I can't imagine Madrid will play for a draw - if you look at the games Barca have played against Pellegrini, you'll see he always aims to dominate . It should be a good game for the fans and we'll have to play well to win".