Luis Enrique praises Gary Neville impact at Valencia

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique believes Gary Neville has made some telling changes on the pitch since taking over at Valencia, but is confident his side can fend off whatever comes their way in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

Valencia continue to struggle for consistency in La Liga, with a 1-0 home defeat by Sporting Gijon leaving the club eight league games without a victory and with only a five-point cushion above the relegation places.

However, Enrique has been impressed by the way Neville has approached his first managerial role - the former Manchester United defender and England assistant having been appointed in early December 2015.

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"You can already see what Neville has done with Valencia," Enrique said. "They are great at getting the ball into the area, and they have some quality players to move the ball up the field. The manager has made changes and we'll have to deal with them.

"Valencia will create difficulties. They are a team that dares to generate pressure and they have some fine individuals. This wasn't an easy draw for either of us, but we're hoping to play well and set things up nicely for the second leg.

"After everything this club has done in recent years, it's only logical that they are saying we're the favourites, But we have to prove that we're better on the pitch."

Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid at the Nou Camp on Saturday to take control at the top of the table as they extended their unbeaten run to 26 matches in all competitions, and Enrique is determined to maintain his squad's focus through to the end of the campaign.

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"More than setting one record or the other, what we have to aim for is trophies. This long unbeaten streak will help us to do that, but it's no guarantee of anything," Enrique said.

"We are the defending champions of most competitions we play in, so what we have to do is go out and defend those titles."

Enrique added: "We are developing physically and we are performing well, so things are going more than well for us. We are ready to compete in what will not be easy conditions going into the final stage of the season."

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