Barcelona forward Lionel Messi's sensational record vs. Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona will return to Camp Nou for the first time in almost a month on Saturday when they host Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.

Victory would see the reigning champions take another step towards retaining their title, having poured more misery on Real Madrid with a second Clasico victory at the Bernabeu in the space of four days last time out.

That result left the Catalan giants 12 points clear of their fiercest rivals, although Atletico Madrid remain in contention with seven points separating them from the leaders.

Lionel Messi was unable to extend his Clasico scoring record last weekend, but he has been in typically scintillating form again this season.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has fared against Saturday's opponents in the past.

It is nothing new for Messi to boast a superb record against any particular opposition, but his one against Rayo is something special even for him.

In just nine meetings, Messi has scored an incredible 16 goals - just short of two per game on average - in addition to registering a further six assists.

Indeed, the Argentine has only failed to score in one of those nine games against Saturday's opponents, and even then he still produced an assist in a 4-0 away win.

This weekend will be Messi's first game against Rayo since March 2016 after he missed the reverse fixture through injury, but on that occasion three years ago he helped himself to a hat-trick.

In fact, Messi has taken the matchball home in his last two meetings with Rayo and has nine goals in his last four such games.

At Camp Nou, the La Liga top scorer has eight goals in four previous meetings, and unsurprisingly he has ended up on the winning side every time he has faced them home or away.