PARIS -- Paris Saint-Germain's in-form striker Edinson Cavani has played down comparisons between himself and Barcelona's Luis Suarez ahead of Tuesday's Champions League round of 16 first leg game at Parc des Princes.
Cavani and Suarez are teammates at international level with Uruguay but the PSG man, who scored his 24th and 25th Ligue 1 goals in the 3-0 win away at Bordeaux on Friday, believes they are not in the same category.
Speaking at the French champions' prematch news conference ahead of the showdown, Cavani admitted he and Suarez are friends off the pitch and spoke recently, but they are not similar players -- despite their shared background in Salto.
"My relationship with Luis? We come from the same place but we have taken different paths to get to where we are," Cavani said. "He left Salto when he was young and I stayed there for longer.
"What we have in common is the national team. We are friends and La Celeste is a real family. I have spoken with Luis and we want to represent our country and our city in the best possible way."
"Am I better than him? We are different. Luis is very physical, it is impressive and he uses his body a lot. I am less physical than him."
PSG coach Unai Emery is expected to better predecessor Laurent Blanc's unimpressive record against big teams in Europe but many in France are already writing the Ligue 1 giants off.
The Spaniard insisted Les Parisiens have no reason to feel inadequate when up against the continent's more established superpowers and stated his belief that the Barcelona clash will be decided by individual and collective duels.
"I am working on the tactical side of things," Emery told journalists at Parc des Princes. "We do not feel inferior to anyone. We have top players and they are developing thanks to PSG. They want to write some beautiful chapters in this club's history, individually and collectively."
"The key is to win the collective and individual duels. Tactics are important at certain moments but so are the individual battles. Our opponents will come looking for us all over the pitch."
Emery has a chance to show the progress he has made as a coach since leaving three-time consecutive Europa League winners and he intends to take that opportunity.
"I want to develop and PSG do too," Emery said. "After that, it is a process that requires a lot of hard work and gradual progress.
"We must overcome obstacles. This will be a really good test for us and we want to overcome it. We have a responsibility and we want to profit from our hard work. Step by step, we will be able to grow as we want to."