With his players tired after Saturday's important league win at Real Madrid and this weekend's derby in mind, Guardiola picked some of his fringe players to face Depor.

And it paid off as Bojan opened the scoring, before second half goals from Pedro and Yaya Toure sealed a comprehensive victory.

Guardiola believes his side are in good shape coming into the business end of the season.

"We are in better shape than at the end of last season and that is a good sign," he said.

"The team has great mental strength and Madrid will oblige us to be switched on all the way," he added.

Madrid face Almeria on Thursday and could close the gap back to three points. Guardiola described that advantage as "ridiculous" in the build-up to Wednesday's game and the Barca coach knows now is not the time to slip up.

"There is not much of the season left and desire will take us where we want to go - we have historic opportunities, which won't come back, so we have to grab them," he said.

In the Champions League, Barca face Inter Milan over two legs and, if successful, will meet either Bayern Munich or Lyon in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In the league, they still have six matches left, starting against Espanyol.

Mauricio Pochettino's side were only one of two to win at the Nou Camp in the league last season and the other, Osasuna, achieved victory at the very end of the campaign, when Barca were already champions and fielded a team of youngsters.

And Guardiola is expecting another tough test from their local rivals.

"It's a real final, a key match at the end of the season and a terribly tough match," he said.

"Since Pochettino has been in charge, it is the toughest match we have had," he added.

Meanwhile, the Barca coach was full of praise for Pedro after the youngster scored a brilliant goal, his 19th of the season.

"It's a surprise for all of us, but the best thing of all is that he is an extraordinary guy and when you praise him, he is embarrassed - imagine the price a player like that would have in the market," he said.

Guardiola was happy his side was able to produce another professional display after Saturday's huge effort in Madrid.

"I was a bit afraid that we might think that we had already fulfilled our objectives after Madrid, but I'm very happy with how my players have responded," he said.

Barcelona now have 83 points, a total that would be enough to win the title most years, but it will not be sufficient this time around.

"Normally the team that gets more than 80 points is the champions, but this year is atypical. The intensity of my team makes me optimistic, though," Guardiola said.

Should they win their last six matches, Barca will finish the season with 101 points.