RAFAEL van der Vaart believes victory over Racing Santander is all important this weekend - so Real Madrid top the Primera Division table ahead of the clash with bitter rivals Barcelona.
Real travel to Racing on Sunday, with Holland international Van der Vaart stressing the magnitude of the clash ahead of El Clasico at the Bernabeu on April 10.
Van der Vaart hopes victory over Racing will see Real maintain their place atop the standings ahead of the Barca battle.
"Our next opponent is Racing, and that is the only team we have in mind right now," said Van der Vaart.
"It is an important match because it won't be easy playing them on their home turf. We can start talking about Barcelona if we beat them.
"We need to win a lot of matches if we want to win La Liga.
"Winning on Sunday is very important because we want to play against Barcelona as the top team in the table."
Brazil playmaker Kaka could return against Barcelona, while Karim Benzema is progressing well having this week trained with the first team for the first time since February.
Van der Vaart hopes victory over Racing will see Real maintain their place atop the standings ahead of the Barca battle.
"Our next opponent is Racing, and that is the only team we have in mind right now," said Van der Vaart.
"It is an important match because it won't be easy playing them on their home turf. We can start talking about Barcelona if we beat them.
"We need to win a lot of matches if we want to win La Liga.
"Winning on Sunday is very important because we want to play against Barcelona as the top team in the table."
Brazil playmaker Kaka could return against Barcelona, while Karim Benzema is progressing well having this week trained with the first team for the first time since February.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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