On the eve of the match against Barça (scheduled for Thursday 8th at 1.30am Italian time), Ancelotti spoke at the press conference, emphasizing the importance of the double test against the Blaugrana, without Leo Messi who remained in Spain injured: "We made a important preparation and now it is time to confront the best teams, we are happy to have come here to compete in such friendly matches, I hope that the team in these two games against Barcelona can repeat the performances of the last two friendlies, in the which we played with personality. I hope it can be like that with Barcelona ". Callejon also connected to Ancelotti's words, which confirmed the relevance of the next two races: "These two games will be used to evaluate our condition. We want to repeat the last performances". Ancelotti then answered some questions about the championship, supporting the competitiveness of the contenders for the title: "The Serie A is increasingly a competitive league with several teams that have reinforced the rose to do well this season".