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Preview: Barcelona v APOEL

Luis Enrique will take the challenge of leading FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in his stride as he seeks to spoil APOEL FC's "dream" of a Camp Nou upset.

Luis Enrique arrives at the pre-match press conference
Luis Enrique arrives at the pre-match press conference ©AFP/Getty Images

Luis Enrique will make his European coaching debut against APOEL
The 44-year-old says there are no nerves ahead of the Group F opener
Giorgos Donis plays down APOEL's chance of an upset but says they must dream
APOEL to play a counterattacking game, with a focus on defensive shape
Claudio Bravo has kept clean sheets in his first three Barcelona appearances

Possible lineups
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Adriano; Samper, Iniesta, Xavi; Munir, Messi, Neymar.
Out: Jordi Masip (broken finger), Thomas Vermaelen (thigh)

APOEL: Urko; Mário Sérgio, Carlão, Guilherme, Alexandrou; Morais, Vinicius; Charalambides, De Vincenti, Manduca; Sheridan.
Doubtful: Tasos Papazoglou (thigh), John Arne Riise (fitness)

Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach
In general we are in good form for the start of the Champions League. I am not one iota more nervous than I was before the match against Athletic Club. It doesn't matter whether they play music before the match or not.

My job as a coach is to tell the players there are no easy matches. We have analysed every aspect of APOEL. They like to dominate games, they are tactically strong and they have lots of Brazilian and Portuguese players, so we will give them the attention they deserve.

I have said before that it's a privilege to coach a team of players like this squad, and I am very proud to see the club working with their young players. To know we can sign players like Luis Suárez and that we have plenty of good players coming through the ranks is a privilege for a coach. The club have worked well to have all these players and the players are wise to decide to stay at the club.

Giorgos Donis, APOEL coach
We are in a very tough group and we are starting the competition against one of the toughest sides in the world. We have a tough task ahead of us but we will do our best. Barcelona don't allow opponents to play well, they always have the ball, so we must be very disciplined, very focused in defence, and know what to do with the ball when we get it. Retaining focus is the most important thing.

This is a special experience for the team but I want it to be more than just an experience. They have respect for the best players in the world, but they mustn't think any less of themselves. We are delighted to be in the group stage. We made a huge effort to win the league and get here, so now we have to enjoy it. There will be another huge effort tomorrow.

In modern football you get all kinds of surprise results but we are realistic. It's no use sitting here talking about past results like Rubin Kazan's here. We are realistic. When I see big teams like Athletic Club or Atlético Madrid struggling against Barcelona, we realise how big a task we have ahead of us. But you must always dream.

Weekend results
Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Club (Neymar 79 84)
APOEL 1-0 Ermis Aradippou FC (Sheridan 87)

Form guide (all competitions)
Barcelona: WWW
APOEL: WWWDLW

Match facts
• Which APOEL goalkeeper is a graduate of Barcelona's La Masia academy and played in their B team in the 2004/05 season? Find out in our extensive match background.

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