Luis Enrique - No problem with Neymar

The 44-year-old has laughed off suggestions the Brazilian forward was unhappy with his substitution at the weekend and is eagerly anticipating the match versus Manchester City.

Luis Enrique has insisted that he is happy with Neymar's form as Barcelona prepare for the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie with Manchester City.

The Brazilian reacted angrily when he was replaced with Pedro in the second half of the 2-0 win over Eibar, but the coach has denied having any concerns about his players, including the former Santos man.

"During the season it’s impossible for a player to be at 100 per cent all the time so they have good and bad moments. But I am happy with Neymar’s performance in general this season," he told reporers.

"I am the coach so I pick the team. You know what ideas I have and I will carry on doing what I have been doing until now.

"I think Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have performed brilliantly all season. But they can’t all score a hat-trick at the same time in one match. All the forwards’ performances have been excellent.

"It would be great if Suarez performed Wednesday like he did in the first leg. We will see if we can generate lots of chances to score tomorrow. We are playing at home with our supporters, so that helps."

Barcelona defend a 2-1 lead from the first leg when they host City at Camp Nou, but Luis Enrique has warned that the tie is by no means decided just yet.

"To keep possession is an objective we have for all of our games. We always want to have ball because that means we control the match. It’s not definitive but it’s a key point.

"It would be dangerous to play a conservative match. Our objective is to win the match and play better than the opponent. To speculate would be very dangerous. We want to beat City and we will see if we’re capable of doing that.

"There’s only one match on our minds and that’s the one against City. Not the Clasico on Sunday against Real Madrid. I think we need to win and compete well in both our games this week. That’s the aim and the best plan we have for the team. Wednesday we have the next round at stake and that keeps us focused on what lies ahead."

Barcelona will have to make do without the services of the injured Sergio Busquets at Camp Nou, but Luis Enrique is confident Javier Mascherano can replace the Spanish midfielder.

"Busquets can’t play Wednesday, definitely not. Javier Mascherano has a different profile - all our players have different profiles. He is professional and you can’t compare him to anyone - he always performs very well." (Goal)