With Barcelona still reeling from the sad news of the cancer relapse of manager Tito Vilanova, the Catalans will try to keep off-field matters on the backburner when they travel to Real Valladolid.

Barca are currently six points clear of Atletico Madrid, after the latter's 1-0 win over Celta Vigo Friday, and the Spanish giants will be keen to extend their lead back to nine points.

Barcelona skipper Carles Puyol said Vilanova was a great inspiration for the players.

"Tito gave us strength with his desire to fight," Puyol told reporters. "The players were upbeat after our conversation with him ... after he finished explaining the situation we felt a bit better. "(But) you can never be prepared to receive that kind of news.

"What we have to do is keep on doing our job, train hard and eagerly await Tito's return. The best way we can help him is to continue working like we have been. (Tito) is our leader and we have to follow the path that he's laid out for us."

Vilanova's assistant Jordi Roura is set to take over in the manager's absence and Puyol has no doubts about the fact that he will do a good job.

"He's worked with us for many years," Puyol added. "He's very active in the training sessions and in how we play, our approach to the game won't change. We're in good hands. Having (Roura) in command is the right decision."

Barcelona, who will again be without Cesc Fabregas through injury, did receive some good news after Eric Abidal returned to first team training following a liver transplant, and Puyol revealed the French defender looked good.

"Abidal looks good," he said. What he needs to do now is to take it slowly, little by little. I'm sure he'll be ready to compete very shortly. We're much stronger with him on the team."

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Expected lineups: Real Valladolid: Hernandez; Rukavina, Serano, Valiente, Balenziaga; Perez, Alvaro; Ebert, Oscar, Ramos; Manucho.

Barcelona: Valdes; Alba, Puyol, Pique, Adriano; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Villa, Messi, Pedro.

Prediction: 3-0 to Barcelona

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