Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said his side will need to be fearless to beat rivals Real Madrid on Sunday as he called on the club's fans to get behind the team following a challenging start to the season.
Barca's imposing Camp Nou stadium will be back to its old self on Sunday for 'El Clasico' with 99,000 hardcore supporters packed into the ground, following the end to restrictions on capacity imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We won two games in a row and the environment is much better. So we need the support of our fans on Sunday against Real Madrid. We need a full house and we need to make our people proud," Koeman told a news conference on Saturday. Despite the criticism that has surrounded the team this campaign, following the departures of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann due to the club's deep financial crisis and some poor results in LaLiga and the Champions League, Koeman does not see a big difference between his side and Real Madrid.