Cesc Fabregas has said he is enjoying his more
significant role in the Barcelona side as they look
to continue their storming start to the campaign
with a win over Espanyol in the Catalan derby on
Friday.
Fabregas was involved in all three of Barca's goals
as they moved four points clear of Atletico Madrid
in second place with a convincing 3-0 win over
Celta Vigo on Tuesday.
Barca boss Gerardo Martino had taken the
opportunity to rest a number of his stars for the
game in Galicia as the likes of Neymar, Andres
Iniesta and Xavi all started on the bench.
However, Fabregas was retained from the side that
beat Real Madrid 2-1 on Saturday and registered
his second goal of the season with Barca's third
nine minutes into the second-half.
"Right now I am playing a lot of games, I feel
important and the only thing that I have to do is
play well for the team," he told the club's website.
"These rotations give life to a lot of players and
they are making us all feel important."
Martino has been keen to ensure his players don't
suffer from burnout in the way they did towards the
end of the last campaign when they were
hammered 7-0 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in
the Champions League semifinals.
And with Barca in the midst of seven games in 22
days, the Argentine will rotate once more for the
visit of Epsanyol.
However, despite the game being sandwiched by a
series of other important matches for the hosts,
Fabregas doesn't belive the derby will lose any of
its importance.
"A derby is always a derby. It will be difficult and
we hope to show our best form and win the three
points."
Despite much talk of Barcelona's defensive
problems, Tuesday night also saw them register
their ninth clean sheet in 16 games.
And goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who is the only
Barca player to start every game this season,
hailed their attitude so far in what, on paper,
should be their easier fixtures.
"Winning against Celta is the best possible way to
prepare for a derby. We have been reinforced by
the Madrid match.
"We have shown how much we want this league
and everything depends on winning games like the
one on Tuesday and against Espanyol."
Barca could be short of options at left-back as
Adriano is a doubt after limping off against Celta
with a hamstring strain, while Jordi Alba remains
sidelined by a thigh injury so right-back Martin
Montoya may start in an unfamiliar role.
Otherwise, Martino has a fully-fit squad to choose
from with Gerard Pique, Neymar, Xavi and Iniesta
all expected to return.
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