SPANISH PRIMERA LIGA:ANDRES INIESTA and his Barcelona team-mates are not letting themselves be distracted by the Clasico with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Nou Camp at the end of the month and instead are focusing on this evening's game at struggling Almeria (7pm).

"The three points (in Almeria) are worth just as much as those from the Madrid game," said Spain midfielder Iniesta.

"I don't think it will be difficult to put the Clasico out of our minds," he added. "We all have it marked in the calendar but our obligation is to think about Almeria."

Unbeaten leaders Real have a one-point advantage over champions Barca after 11 matches and host eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu in tonight's late kick-off (9pm).

Real have beaten Bilbao on the Basque club's last five visits to the capital, including a 5-1 drubbing last season.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will be without Eric Abidal for the trip to Andalusia after the France left back suffered a small tear to a muscle in his right leg and club doctors advised four or five days' treatment.

"It's a very small thing but we don't want to risk losing him," Guardiola said yesterday.

Centre back Gerard Pique, who felt a twinge in his hamstring during Spain's 4-0 defeat in Portugal on Wednesday, trained normally yesterday and Guardiola said a decision would be made on his fitness today.

Bilbao's Spain striker Fernando Llorente, who has scored eight goals this season and is third on the scoring chart behind Cristiano Ronaldo (11) and Lionel Messi (10), will be their danger man.

Real coach Jose Mourinho will have to watch the game from the stands as he completes a two-match ban following his dismissal from the bench for verbally abusing the referee in a Copa del Rey match last week.