Enrique coy when asked if he will rest players prior to Man City

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique would not tip his hand when asked if he would rest players against Malaga, prior to his side’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg match versus Manchester City next week.

The Barcelona boss, who overlooked first-team training at the newly-named Camp Tito Vilanova this morning, went on to say that he would have to take into account the amount of games his players will be participating in over the next short period of time. But the manager also stressed that a positive results against the reigning champions of England on Wednesday was very much within his team’s control.

“I have to take everything into account and that is one aspect,” Enrique said when asked if he would rest certain players. “We are playing a lot of games in the space of a few days, which I will bear in mind.

“We’ll concentrate of the first leg, which is the one we control.

When questioned further as to whether fans would prefer league glory or a Champions League title, Enrique responded: “Run a survey at the gates of Camp Nou.

“We try to do our jobs in order to win titles, and there’s no guarantee of that because there is strong opposition.

“The most important months of the season are coming up, although they’re all important because if you haven’t done your homework before you can’t find yourself in the position to fight for interesting things.

“This period has come at a good moment in terms of our morale.”

Barcelona are currently on a run that has seen the club win eleven straight matches in all competitions. The team are second to Real Madrid on the La Liga table and have one foot in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after beating Villarreal 3-1 at home last week.

Enrique and star man Lionel Messi have improved their reportedly uneasy relationship, and the Argentine forward has been in scintillating form since being benched at the start of the New Year.

When asked about the club’s evolution since the beginning of the season, as well as his side’s recent form, Enrique stated that he has just stuck to what he knows and has continued with the process of building the team around his principles.

“I don’t have any reason to change my opinion,” Enrique concluded. “I believe it is the process and evolution of a season, no more and no less.”

Programming note: Barcelona vs. Malaga will be shown LIVE on Saturday starting at 9:55am EST on beINSPORTS and DishWorld.