Osasuna vs Barcelona preview - Zubizarreta optimistic Guardiola will stay

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta remains confident coach Pep Guardiola will continue his successful spell at the helm but has confirmed the club have drawn up contingency plans should he decide to leave the Nou Camp.

Guardiola has led Barca to 13 titles since moving up from B team coach to guide the first XI in 2008.

The former Barca and Spain midfielder has previously refused to commit to a long-term deal and with his current contract, signed last year, due to expire at the end of the season there is concern he may decide to walk away.

But Zubizarreta is optimistic it will not come to that despite the Catalans, who visit Osasuna on Saturday, trailing arch-rivals Real Madrid by seven points in the Primera Division title race.

He told Marca: "The conditions for Pep to renew are favourable."

He claimed, however, that they did have a plan B, adding: "I have a list of potential replacements."

The Barca players have made it clear they are desperate for Guardiola to stay, with central defender Gerard Pique admitting: "Pep came here when the club was not at its best, and from that first year the team has not stopped growing.

"We have won many titles with players that have come through the ranks and have not cost money.

"The key is the coach."

Barca could do without the distraction of Guardiola's future with three points against Osasuna a must if they are to maintain the pressure on Jose Mourinho's Madrid.

The Pamplona club have not won any of their past eight games in all competitions, two of which saw them lose home and away Copa del Rey clashes with Barca.

And Iranian midfielder Javad Nekounam accepts the home side will have to be at their best to arrest that slump.

"We are prepared but it will be difficult because Barca are the best team in the world and have very good players," he told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

"To win this game you have to give more. If you display a low level they will kill you.

"Teams normally come to Pamplona to defend but Barca will attack and that is good for us.

"The first thing we have to do is defend well and then we can think of attacking."

Nekounam is aware of Barca's need to win, adding: "They know it is difficult with a seven-point deficit to Real Madrid and if they lose two or three points in Pamplona it will get even more complicated for them.

"Therefore they will attack even more than they did in the Copa."