Pep: "If I celebrate against Barcelona, it isn't a question of respect"

If Bayern Munich score on Wednesday night and Josep Guardiola celebrates the goal, he says it wouldn't be because of a lack of respect towards Barcelona.

The Catalan coach left Barça in 2012 after four hugely successful years, but he returns this week with the German champions for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.  

"I don't know what I will do, but I have not decided to not celebrate out of respect out of Barça," he said at his pre-game press conference on Tuesday. 

"My respect for Barça does not depend on whether I celebrate a goal or not. When my players score, I get very happy because I want to win. 

"Barça has been a very important part of my life, up until now it's everything, but I am here to win — we need to produce a great performance so that I can celebrate." 

Producing a great performance has been made more difficult because of the injury list the club are currently nursing. 

However, Guardiola refuses to use that as an excuse. 

"If we complained [about injuries] we wouldn't have been champions of the Bundesliga," he said when asked if Barça would begin the tie as favourites. 

"If Barça deserve to win, they will deserve to win. I have never complained about injuries and I am not about to do it now."

As for Robert Lewandowski, Guardiola claimed he will speak with the player before making a decision on whether he plays or not. 

The Polish striker broke his jaw and nose in last week's German Cup defeat to Borussia Dortmund, but trained at Camp Nou on Wednesday night wearing a protective mask.

Guardiola says he will need all of his players to be at 100 percent to trouble Luis Enrique's side.