Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde says they need to take the sting out of talk about a guard of honour from Real Madrid.

Barcelona can finish the race for the league title at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday evening but talk is already turning to the subsequent weekend's El Clasico, where focus is on a potential guard of honour for the Catalans.

"There is a lot of talk about the guard of honour, of guards of honour in general," said Valverde.

"It was talked about when we were going to play at the Bernabeu. The whole theme of the guard of honour has been distorted, especially by Barcelona and Madrid.

"They have a strange feeling. It seems that you are looking more for the opponent to be humiliated than for them to applaud you.

"Andres would deserve for the whole stadium to make him a guard of honour."