Pep Guardiola believes both teams deserve title.

Pep Guardiola believes both teams deserve title.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola says both his side and Real Madrid deserve to win this season's Primera Division title.

Barcelona currently lead Madrid by a point with three games remaining and the title race looks set to go down to the wire.

Both teams have already eclipsed all previous points records for the league in its current format, but only one can go on to become this season's champion.

"We deserve it, but Real Madrid also deserve to win this league because they have had a great season like we have," the Barca coach said ahead of Tuesday's Primera Division clash at home to relegation-threatened Tenerife.

"If you ask me I will say that I deserve to win, but if you ask (Madrid coach Manuel) Pellegrini, he will say the same thing - the two of us deserve it," he added.

Madrid have fought stubbornly to stay in touch with the Catalans all season and dug out another vital win on Sunday, when they twice came from behind, and needed an 89th-minute Cristiano Ronaldo winner, to beat Osasuna 3-2 and keep the gap at just a point.

Nevertheless, Guardiola knows Barca's fate is in their own hands.

"My players know that if we win all of our games, we will be champions," he said.

Meanwhile, Barca president Joan Laporta is sure his side will win the title.

"I'm convinced we will win the league," he said.

Laporta also gave a vote of confidence to under-fire striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has been criticised by the press all season following his big-money move from Inter Milan and has come under fresh scrutiny following Barca's Champions League exit at the hands of the Italians last week.

"It's very difficult to adapt to Barca's style of play and even more so for someone coming from Inter," he said.

"He has many qualities and as soon as he gets his rhythm back, he will be back to his best - I expect him to be here next year," he added.

Xavi played in Saturday's 4-1 win at Villarreal with a calf injury and is likely to feature again on Tuesday, despite that problem, but Eric Abidal and Andres Iniesta are set to miss out.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi needs five more goals this season to equal the record total of goals ever scored in a season by a Barcelona player.

Messi currently has 42 after bagging a brace against Villarreal and is now five short of Ronaldo's record of 47 goals, which the Brazilian scored in his only season at the club, in 1996/97.

The Argentina winger is also five adrift of Ronaldo's league record of 34.

Tenerife will have far more pressing matters on their mind.

The Canary Islanders remain in the relegation zone and have three matches to secure Primera Division survival.

Coach Jose Luis Oltra knows his side are expected to lose, but hopes his side can compete at the Nou Camp.

"We have to go out and compete, and do the things as best as we can - let's hope Barcelona's subconscious betrays them and we are able to go for the result," he said.

Dinei misses out, while Nino and Ayoze Garcia face late fitness tests.