Luis Enrique Won’t Rest Neymar Against Bate Borisov

The Barcelona strikers Neymar and Luis Suárez have been the driving force behind recent victories but despite crunch matches ahead their coach Luis Enrique has no plans to rest them for the Champions League encounter with Bate Borisov at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
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The duo have compensated for the loss of Lionel Messi by leading from the front to keep Barça on course in La Liga and the Champions League.
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The Catalan side have won their last three league games since the international break and beat Bate away in Champions League Group E to top with seven points from three games.
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Neymar and Suárez have contributed 11 goals in four games to help Barcelona move joint top of La Liga with Real Madrid on 24 points from 10 games.
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Barça have been stretched by injuries and a Fifa ban on buying players over the last two transfer windows and they face Bate, who they beat 4-0 at home in 2011, with Villarreal and Real Madrid round the corner.
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“The objective is to beat Bate Borisov and to win the group,” Luis Enrique told a news conference on Tuesday.
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“Obviously the importance of finishing first depends on who is second in the other groups but we want to give a message that we are ready and prepared.”
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Luis Enrique took particular care last season in resting players so that the treble winners were their strongest at the business end of the campaign.
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“It is not a worry,” Luis Enrique said. “Last year I was able to do what I wanted with the amount of minutes that players had, even though I was criticised at the time, and now I am restricted by the number of players available.
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“We will have players back soon, along with others available in January, and we will see if then we can arrange the minutes played because I am aware that the trophies are disputed in the final months and that is the key.”