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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique confirmed that Javier Mascherano will be out for the Catalan club's Champions League match against Roma on Tuesday and added that he hopes forward Lionel Messi continues to regain form after his initial return to action over the weekend. Messi was only fit enough for the Barca bench after returning from nearly two months on the sidelines with a knee injury in the 4-0 Clasico win. His compatriot, Mascherano, was taken out of the game in the 26th minute after injuring his right thigh in a clash with Real Madrid's James Rodriguez. The win allowed Barcelona to open a four-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid in La Liga and left Los Blancos in crisis a further two points behind. "We're not going to risk a key player. He took a bad knock to his quadriceps," said Luis Enrique of Mascherano during a Monday news conference. The Blaugrana coach said Messi will improve with time. He is expected to be in Barcelona's starting lineup for the first time since tearing a left knee ligament in a La Liga game almost two months ago. Messi came off the bench against Madrid in the 56th minute, with his team already up 3-0. "He looked good in the Bernabeu. It's great for everyone to see him on the pitch again. He just needs to get some playing time under his belt and we'll be able to enjoy watching him again," he said, but would not discuss the player's status further. "I've always had positive relationships with almost all my players, some more than others, the same as when I was at school. We've always got along well and I won't say in public what we talk about." Still savoring the memorable win, Barcelona return home to face Roma, needing only a draw to guarantee first place in Group E with one round yet to be played. The Spanish club have 10 points from four matches, five points more than second-place Roma. Third-place Bayer Leverkusen, who play at BATE Borisov in Belarus, have four points, one more than their opponent on Tuesday. "I'm expecting a different game to the first meeting. Roma need the points," Luis Enrique said. "It will be a different game than the one in Rome. It will be very demanding and open. For Roma it's an attractive situation, to come to Camp Nou to try to win. No other result will do them. In Rome they played more defensively. It'll be an interesting game between two sides who like to play good football." Roma, who missed a chance to move near the top of Serie A after a 2-2 draw at Bologna on Saturday, must find a way to beat Barcelona to keep from dropping to third place with one round left in the group stage. The Giallorossi stayed in contention in the Champions League thanks to a late win over Bayer in their previous game, but a loss or a draw on Tuesday could send the Italians back to third place going into the decisive round, when they host BATE. Barca were held to a 1-1 draw by Roma in September's reverse fixture and Luis Enrique is expecting a concerted challenge from the team he coached in the 2011-12 season. "We didn't get the tempo we wanted there but they had nine players behind the ball. I'd take every game like that one. We created a lot of chances and they hardly had a shot. We were the better side despite the draw. In 10 games like that the result wouldn't be the same twice. This time we have to continue creating chances, but also to put them away," he said.
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