I always trust in the players to do their work - Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino says he is counting on his players to advance into the next stage of the Champions League knockout stage first leg against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

The former Tottenham Hotspurs boss has Neymar and Angel Di Maria unavailable as a result of injury and Kylian Mbappe is expected to spearhead the Paris Saint Germain attack against a transformed Barcelona side, with Mauro Icardi, Moise Kean, Julian Draxler and Pablo Sarabia all possible starters, Marca reports.

Pochettino, who took over from new Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel is expecting his players to deliver on the field against Ronald Koeman's side.

"Of course we need some clear structures and ideas on how to attack and how to stop Barcelona getting at us," Pochettino told UEFA.com.

"But we always trust in the players to do their work in the best way possible and get a positive outcome."

Mauricio Pochettino would seek to repeat Thomas Tuchel’s European record last season with the French champions but a changed Barcelona team with a winning mentality has become a stumbling block and his fulfilment begins with eliminating Ronald Koeman’s side first.

"I've seen Barcelona's entire evolution, first from my home in London, when Ronald took over," Pochettino added.

"It's clear that the team is moving to a different stage, to a different chapter. As soon as Ronald came in, he started working to get the best performance out of his team.

"Now, after seven months, Ronald has put his ideas in practice and the team knows what's expected by the coach.

"I see a solid team with some clear ideas and amazing football players.

"They're a team that knows how to compete, a team that's built to win. Their mindset is built to win like big clubs, like PSG, which is also a team which wants to compete and win."