Top meets bottom in La Liga this weekend as Barcelona take on Osasuna, but listening to Javad Nekounam talk today, you wouldn't know which side is where.
The Iranian midfielder sounded full of confidence as he spoke to Marca about the match, despite the fact that Osasuna are a massive 31 points behind Barça in the league at the moment.
"It is an important match, first against last, but we will not make it easy and Barcelona will not take a point from Pamplona," he boomed.
"We are playing at home and nobody can beat us easily there. I promise that we are going to play brilliantly and with all our heart, to get the best result to pay back the support from the fans."
Osasuna might be bottom of the table but they have actually done quite well against the big teams they have played so far, such as Atlético Madrid, who they drew with, and Sevilla, who they also got a point from last weekend.
There is no doubt that Barcelona, with Lionel Messi and co. in the ranks, will be a tougher test, but Nekounam is not focusing on any one player in particular.
"I do not look at the names of players. I always respect the opponents, but I also expect to play my best and I will do everything to play better than them," he declared.
"Barcelona are a good team, but a player alone cannot do everything, we have a plan for them as a team."
Last Minute Losses
The problem with Osasuna this season has been mainly in attack, where they have struggled to find the back of the net on too many occasions.
The defence, on the other hand, has been solid for the most part, but Nekounam does regret some of the points they have thrown away late in the game.
"We have lost points by our own mistakes, but no team has been better than us. We have improved and we have to get rid of our fear at the end of matches," he mused.
"I do not like to see Osasuna at the bottom, although I am scoring goals. First I want the team to succeed though, and then me. It is more important if we do well together."
The Iranian was also asked for his thoughts on Freddy Kanouté's actions against Deportivo La Coruña, when he revealed his t-shirt with Palestine written across it.
He said, "People are dying and when that happens to innocents it is sad, no matter if they are Palestinian, European or American, it is always sad."
James Walker-Roberts, Goal.com