Lionel Messi's record vs. Valencia

Barcelona can move further clear at the top of La Liga with victory over Valencia at Camp Nou on Saturday evening.

The Catalan giants are already five points better off than second-placed Atletico Madrid, who are not in action until the following day.

Barca will have star man Lionel Messi in their ranks for this weekend's showdown - bad news for Valencia, as the Argentine superstar has a formidable record against them.

Here, Sports Mole looks at that goalscoring return in a little more detail.

Messi has faced Valencia on 25 occasions in La Liga - a joint-high alongside Atletico - and has been involved in 32 goals.

Against no other side does the five-time Ballon d'Or winner boast a better return, scoring 22 goals and setting up 10 more.

The 31-year-old scored braces in both league fixtures two seasons ago and, while he fired a blank across 180 minutes in 2017-18, he responded with a goal in the 1-1 draw earlier this season.

In other competitions, meanwhile, Messi scored a hat-trick against Los Che in in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final clash nearly three years ago to the day, but he fired blanks in the other five semi-finals played against Valencia since 2008.