Guardiola: We'll go to the Bernabeu to win

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola heads into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals tomorrow insisting his impressive record against Real Madrid counts for nothing. Guardiola has won eight of his 12 meetings against the Catalan club's arch-rivals since taking over in the summer of 2008, losing on just one occasion. However, he knows past results will have no bearing on tomorrow night's Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg against the La Liga leaders. "Going to the Bernabeu we must be wise to get through," Guardiola said. "The only way to get a result and have the tie alive is to go to win the game. Madrid are the strongest opponents that we can find. Against Madrid you cannot feel a favourite. "In sport there are no precedents. It matters what you do at the time. Tomorrow is a new day and 90,000 people will support a team in white. You have to start again. That's the beauty. This work makes sense because it offers passion." Guardiola has named the 15 available first-team players as well as Isaac Cuenca, Martin Montoya, Jonathan dos Santos and Sergi Roberto in his squad, and confirmed this evening veteran goalkeeper Jose Pinto will start between the posts. "I have decided to play Pinto because he deserves it and is an excellent keeper," added the Barça boss, who will celebrate his 41st birthday tomorrow. The 19-man group trained this afternoon and will head to the capital tomorrow morning. Forward Pedro was also present at the Ciutat Esportiva as he begins his recovery from a leg injury sustained in Thursday's Copa win at Osasuna. Guardiola also expressed his delight at the renewal of Eric Abidal's contract. The Frenchman has agreed a one-year contract extension with the European champions, with the option for another two seasons on top of that. "This is great news," Guardiola said. "Finding a player like him in the market is very difficult. You know my opinion about him - he makes his mark on the people and is a fantastic player."