Neymar says he knows how to handle Pepe after being shown a video tape of the Real Madrid defender. Neymar, 21, could make his Clasico debut on Saturday and is likely to face the rugged centre-back, who he was up against in September's friendly between Brazil and Portugal, which theSelecaowon 3-1. But the attacker says he will not be "provoked" as he knows how to deal with the controversial Portuguese's style of play following a tape sent by the Brazil Football Confederation (CBF) before the friendly. “They sent me a video and they also sent one to [fellow Brazil international] Thiago Silva so that we didn’t get provoked," he toldGlobo TV. “It wasn’t just for my sake, it was for the sake of my team-mates too." Neymar has scored two goals in eight league games for Barcelona this season.

Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote insists the only way to answer your critics is on the pitch. Tiote is set to captain Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne derby with Sunderland this Sunday as regular captain Fabricio Coloccini is sidelined through injury. And the combative midfielder, who was sent off in the corresponding fixture last term, says that Newcastle need to stay together as a team. "There is no escape from the criticism if we lose games. It is hard. But we know we have good players in this team. If everybody is focused we will do well," he told the Evening Chronicle. "The only way we can answer people is by winning. If we lose we have to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes. "We have been trying to do that in the last few games. We must stay compact as a team and stay together. If we do we'll win the game. "When you're on the pitch you have to give everything for the fans and the manager." Tiote insists he does not pay too much attention to any criticism that comes his way. "I don't read anything on the internet or TV," he said. "It isn't important for me. We just have to focus in the most important area - on the pitch. "If we do our jobs we will win games. That is the most important thing." And he is hoping that he can help send Newcastle's travelling support home happy on Sunday. "Our fans have travelled everywhere, I am always happy when we give them wins," he said. "We don't want to send them home unhappy."

Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote insists the only way to answer your critics is on the pitch. Tiote is set to captain Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne derby with Sunderland this Sunday as regular captain Fabricio Coloccini is sidelined through injury. And the combative midfielder, who was sent off in the corresponding fixture last term, says that Newcastle need to stay together as a team. "There is no escape from the criticism if we lose games. It is hard. But we know we have good players in this team. If everybody is focused we will do well," he told the Evening Chronicle. "The only way we can answer people is by winning. If we lose we have to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes. "We have been trying to do that in the last few games. We must stay compact as a team and stay together. If we do we'll win the game. "When you're on the pitch you have to give everything for the fans and the manager." Tiote insists he does not pay too much attention to any criticism that comes his way. "I don't read anything on the internet or TV," he said. "It isn't important for me. We just have to focus in the most important area - on the pitch. "If we do our jobs we will win games. That is the most important thing." And he is hoping that he can help send Newcastle's travelling support home happy on Sunday. "Our fans have travelled everywhere, I am always happy when we give them wins," he said. "We don't want to send them home unhappy."

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Mesut Ozil was "not on Manchester United's radar" in 2010, despite Wayne Rooney urging the club to sign him. Back in 2010, Ozil, who has made a superb start to life in England following his £42million move from Real Madrid to Arsenal at the start of last month, starred for his country as Germany beat England 4-1 in the second round of the 2010 World Cup, alerting Rooney to the potential of the then Werder Bremen player. Ozil ended up moving to Real Madrid, before joining Arsene Wenger's side in September. "The thing was Ozil was not on our radar," Sir Alex said at Tuesday's news conference to launch his book,Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography. "I said that to Wayne at the time. We signed Chicharito [Javier Hernandez] that summer. My thoughts at the time were a Rooney and Chicharito partnership. That was a fair prospect for us to look at. "When Ozil was at Werder [Bremen] he played wide right initially, then towards the second part of that season they played him off the front. "He was part of the great Germany Under-21 team that went to South Africa. That type of player was not necessarily on our radar - a No. 10. I told Wayne: 'Leave the signing of players to me.' We've got lots of them right." In the book, Ferguson had said he believed Rooney's comments were designed to either engineer a move away from Old Trafford or land an improved contract - something he did later that year. "I felt he'd been programmed in what he was trying to say," wrote the Scot, who retired as United boss at the end of last season. "The basis of his complaint was that we were not sufficiently ambitious. My response was to ask Wayne: 'When have we not challenged for the league in the last 20 years? How many European finals have we been to in the last three or four years?' I told him that to say we weren't ambitious was nonsense. "Wayne said that we should have pursued Mesut Ozil, who had joined Real Madrid from Werder Bremen. My reply was that it was none of his business who we should have gone for. I told him it was his job to play and perform. My job was to pick the correct teams. And so far I had been getting it right."

Napoli coach Rafa Benitez has explained starting Gonzalo Higuain from the bench for the last defeat to AS Roma. Higuain was only a substitute and there were reports the striker told Benitez he didnt want to start. "I made the decision, we watch the players in every training session and I decided it was better to start with Pandev," insisted the coach. "If we find space for rapid counter-attack, then we make it difficult for anyone. We had a few chances and moved the ball around well, but against a strong side like Roma to concede a goal on the stroke of half-time and another on a penalty it becomes difficult for everyone. "I look at the performance and in terms of character Napoli did very well. I said beforehand this game would not decide the title, but clearly with the way we played I'd say it was a positve match. We played well and this bodes well for the future."

Emmanuel Emenike now realizing huge potential in the colours of Nigeria