Mourinho: "I'll go with Barça's lessons on referees"

Mourinho has commented on the day before the game – quite the turn up for the books. It may be a good omen for Madrid fans that the coach is upbeat and speaking out in the hours leading up to the 'Clásico'. This was his take on things: "The atmosphere is normal. This is a game we're looking forward to. Everyone wants to play. I prefer difficult games of this dimension to games where there's no tension. That's why we're ready to play. We want the matches against Barcelona and Manchester United to come quickly."

He admitted that he has not settled on a line-up for the Camp Nou: "I don't know who the eleven will be. It's not that I don't want to tell you."

He believes Barcelona's defeat in Milan will not have an impact and that there is no favourite for tomorrow's game: "I think form goes out of the window when big teams face each other. This match has nothing to do with previous ones. They are too far apart. They are not connected. We have to try and play to the best of our ability, and that's all there is to it."