Lionel Messi's record vs. Valencia

Following the shock Champions League exit at the hands of Roma in midweek, Barcelona will attempt to take their anger out on Valencia at Camp Nou.

The Catalan giants are cruising towards the La Liga title and will look to wrap things up by the time Real Madrid visit early next month.

Barca are still yet to taste defeat in the Spanish top flight this term, with Lionel Messi once again proving to be their key performer.

Here, Sports Mole looks at the Argentina international's record in past encounters with this weekend's opponents.

Messi is pretty familiar with Valencia, it is fair to say, having faced off against Los Che on 29 previous occasions during his time with Barcelona.

After failing to make it off the bench in the first three meetings for which he was included in the matchday squad, and being forced out injured in the fourth, the superstar forward had to wait until 2006-07 for his first taste of this fixture.

Messi failed to complete the full 90 minutes in his first three matches against Valencia, though, and it took him until the fourth match to get off the mark - the opening goal in a comprehensive 6-0 win.

Incredibly, despite that slow start the 30-year-old has still averaged nearly a goal-a-game in La Liga clashes, scoring 21 times in 23 matches, including three hat-tricks and a couple of braces.

The Argentine ace has been less successful in the Copa del Rey, scoring in just one of six past matches - albeit netting a hat-trick in that semi-final first-leg tie - but Valencia will rightly be worried to meet Messi for a 30th time.