UEFA Super Cup: Barca in good shape despite Neymar absence

Andy West 10:30 11/08/2015
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  • In Neymar's absense, Luis Suarez will lead the Barcelona attack.

    Barcelona will take the latest step in their quest to win six trophies in a calendar year as they face fellow Spanish outfit Sevilla in tonight’s UEFA Super Cup.


    With a remarkable treble of the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa Del Rey secured at the end of last season, Barca could now add the UEFA and Spanish Super Cups in the next fortnight before finishing the year with the Club World Cup in Japan.

    Tonight’s contest in Tbilisi, Georgia, will see Barca missing Brazilian Neymar, who has been struck down by mumps and is expected to be out for two weeks, with Manchester United target Pedro almost certain to be his replacement.

    Jordi Alba is also absent through injury but the Catalan giants are otherwise at full strength, although manager Luis Enrique may opt to rotate his squad in the build-up to the new La Liga campaign.

    “We’ve had an interesting pre-season and now we’re ready for the first competition,” said Enrique. “It’s a challenge we’ve been preparing for from the very first day and we are in good shape to compete for a title.”

    Enrique refused to directly discuss the future of winger Pedro, who could be playing one of his last games for Barca if the long-mooted move to Old Trafford finally goes through.

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    Enrique is keen to keep hold of the Spain international but appeared to accept there’s a possibility that he’ll leave as he said: “I’d like to be able to count on all the players for the whole season.

    We have already spoken a lot about Pedro and we’ll have the solution soon.”

    Although the contest is among the lowest of Barca’s priorities, Enr-ique insisted that he is determined to return home with silverware.

    “Every competition is a challenge and we are taking it with the same level of seriousness as any other competition. The Spanish Super Cup will also be difficult and important,” he said. “The more trophies you can win, the better. It means we are continuing to make history – we enjoy what we do and we want to win titles.”

    Sevilla boss Unai Emery has selection concerns in defence, with new signing Adil Rami and Timothee Kolodziejczak hoping to rec-over from a bout of food poisoning – right-back Coke and midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak are on standby to step into unfamiliar roles.B

    The back-to-back Europa League winners haven’t beaten Barca for five years but April’s 2-2 La Liga draw was one of the most exciting games of the season.

    New arrival Michael Krohn-Dehli, who played under Enrique at Celta, said: “I have only good things to say about him.

    “He has clear ideas about how he wants to play football, he is honest, a good communicator and he knows how players think.

    “I have played for a lot of coaches and Luis Enrique is one I learned the most from. Without him, I wouldn’t be at Sevilla now.”

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