Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe will be in the spotlight when they face Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie on Tuesday without Neymar and Angel Di Maria.
Although Mbappe is the Ligue 1 top scorer with 16 goals this season, he has largely failed to fire at the European stage with just two goals and he has not scored in the knockout stage since a 2-0 win at Manchester United in the last 16 in 2019. And if he is under any pressure, he did not let in show during training on Monday.
But manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is expected to field Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia or Moise Kean alongside the 22-year-old Mbappe, said he was pleased with the France striker's form.
"Clearly we're missing important players but we have a team and players who are responsible," Pochettino, who took over from the sacked Thomas Tuchel at the beginning of the year, said on Monday.
"As for Mbappe, I expect from him what I always expect from great players. I'm very happy with his performances since I arrived."
Neymar suffered a thigh problem in last week's French Cup win at Caen while Di Maria has a similar injury which he picked up in the Ligue 1 victory away to Olympique Marseille on February 7.
PSG and Barcelona have not met since the French champions were thrashed 6-1 at the Camp Nou in the last 16 in 2017 after winning the first leg 4-0.
