Valverde: We'd have taken a blood oath to be in this position at the start of the season LaLiga - Barcelona Happy with team's form

Barcelona are in a privileged position as the season reaches crunch time and Ernesto Valverde admitted he would have bitten someone's hand off before the season if offered it.

As things stand, the Blaugrana are big favourites to secure the league title and are also still in with a shout of adding the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

While he is pleased with the position they find themselves in, he is also wary of the challenge his former club Athletic will pose on Sunday.

"Whether your are optimistic or pessimistic, you should always believe that you will do well," he told the media.

"Of course, if you had offered us the position we are in at the start of the season, we would have signed it in blood.

"But now we face Athletic, who are a dangerous rival going through a bad time after being eliminated from the Europa League and are a little lower in LaLiga.

"We are eight points in front of Atletico though and that is the same distance between Athletic and the European spots so these are three vital points.

"Now, we are in the countdown stage. There are 10 league games remaining and a tough month of April to come so there are many important matches."

Valverde also gave his take on the Champions League draw which pitted his side against Roma and given who they avoided, he is happy with it.

"At this point, it is difficult to analyse it but we definitely didn't want to play Real Madrid or Sevilla because we've played them a lot," he added.

"We wanted to play teams from other leagues and people run the risk of comparing them with stronger teams but remember they finished above Atletico and Chelsea in the group stage.

"We already know how strong those two teams are so we know it will be difficult."

Finally, Valverde offered a brief update on midfielder Andre Gomes, who this week bravely admitted how badly he is struggling to cope with the demands and pressure of being a Blaugrana player.

"He is doing very well now and the public have turned with him and supported him," he said.

"That's very good for him but the one who has to take the positive steps on the field is Andre. He must move forward."