Barcelona vs Tottenham: Ernesto Valverde says Spurs will be shown no mercy despite resting Luis Suarez

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has warned Tottenham that they will be going all out for victory in their Champions League showdown at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night, despite already having won their group. Tottenham must win to be sure of qualification, and although Valverde admitted he would be resting some of his first-team squad, he insisted they would be respectful of both the competition and Inter Milan, who are relying on Barcelona to do them a favour.

Valverde brought up a similar situation from last year, when Barcelona faced Sporting Lisbon in their final group game with qualification already secure, ultimately winning 2-0 despite leaving Lionel Messi on the bench. Messi may again be left out of the starting line-up after playing a full 90 minutes against local rivals Espanyol on Saturday, but Valverde said he was under no illusions as to the size of the test ahead.

“We are expecting a tough match, because Tottenham are a strong team, both physically and tactically,” he said. “Also, their qualification is at stake. It’s a Champions League match, and we want to win. We know there are many people who will be watching, there are other clubs involved such as Inter, and we want to go out and prove that nobody beats us in the Champions League.

open image in gallery

“It’s true that maybe there will be some changes. We all know we are qualified, so it’s good to give some players a break, because we’ve just played a very important match. I know that Tottenham kept [rested] some players for this match [against Leicester on Saturday]. The important thing is that players who go onto the pitch have to be motivated. Our opponent is strong, and they have lots at stake.”

One player who will definitely be missing is Luis Suarez, one of the stars of Barcelona’s imposing 4-2 win at Wembley in October. Suarez has been managing a chronic knee problem all season, and Valverde said he would be rested. Jasper Cillessen may start ahead of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in goal, Ivan Rakitic could get a night off in midfield and Philippe Coutinho could come in for Ousmane Dembele, currently in hot water after reportedly turning up two hours late for training on Saturday.

open image in gallery

“I knew you were going to ask about Dembele,” Valverde grumbled. “It’s true that some things have happened, we will try to solve things internally, and there’s not much more to say about this. It is a new situation, and we want to help this player, because he has great talent, and we want to help him make the most of it.”

As for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, Valverde was effusive enough in his praise. He described Harry Kane as “a world-class player” for whom he feels great respect, said Pochettino himself had “always been improving”, and suggested he was expecting a largely similar Tottenham team to the one they faced at Wembley. “They will have new players like Eriksen and Dele Alli [both of whom missed the return fixture], who can make the difference at any point,” he said. “But the essence of Tottenham is the same.”