Neymar could be moved into a centre forward position as Barcelona adjust to life without Lionel Messi in tonight’s Champions League meeting with Bayer Leverkusen.
The reigning champions are looking for their first victory in this season’s competition, having drawn their opener against Roma a fortnight ago.
And they will have to do so without Messi, who has been ruled out for up to two months after suffering a knee injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Las Palmas.
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Manager Luis Enrique has insisted that his team will not change their usual style despite the absence of their key player, but he also admitted that Neymar’s role within the side could change.
The Brazilian has played on the left wing almost exclusively throughout his Barca career, with his position providing a nice balance to Messi’s right-wing berth since the Argentine moved there midway through last season.
Without Messi, however, Enrique acknowledged he may temporarily ditch the three-pronged strike force which has served them so well in the last few months, instead getting Neymar into a more central position alongside Luis Suarez.
“Trying to substitute a player like Leo is impossible,” said the Barca boss. “He is irreplaceable. Our plan is to keep playing the same way but with other players. It is a challenge to maintain our level of competitiveness without the best player in the world.
"We consider changes to the system every week. We evaluate our options and aim to be as dangerous as possible.
“We are aware that Neymar has played as a centre forward for Brazil in the past, and that is something that we may look at. But we don’t want him or Luis Suarez to replace anyone. Neymar just has to be Neymar and Suarez to be Suarez.”
After suffering a number of injury setbacks, a welcome boost has been provided with the return to full training of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who has not played for a month after suffering a calf injury.
Enrique was typically evasive about his plans for the goalkeeper position, but the vulnerability of Marc-Andre ter Stegen so far this season means that Bravo is almost certain to return when he is fully fit.
Leverkusen gained a morale-boosting 3-0 victory at Werder Bremen on Saturday after also starting their Champions League campaign with a 4-1 win against BATE Borisov.
One of their chief threats is former Manchester United and Real Madrid frontman Javier Hernandez, and Enrique said: “He’s a great goalscorer and also a fighter.”
