Lionel Messi will make his 600th appearance for Barcelona when they face Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday.
Messi is set to become only the third player in Barca’s history to reach the milestone after Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
Furthermore, it comes against Sevilla – the team he has scored the most goals against (29).
“It’s an awful lot, 600 matches for the same club, with goals and assists…” Blaugrana boss Ernesto Valverde said at a Press conference.
“There are not enough adjectives to describe Messi’s career. It’s extraordinary, everything he does and how he does it.”
The No 10 will not be joined on the pitch by injured sextet Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal, Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Andre Gomes and Ousmane Dembele, but Andres Iniesta has recovered from a hamstring problem.
Sevilla have not won at Camp Nou in the League for 15 years, but Coach Eduardo Berizzo nonetheless believed his side had what it took to cause a shock.
“Every game can be won,” asserted the former Celta Vigo trainer.
“We have the weapons to win here. Speaking from my experience and mentality, I always want to win every game.
“You need to do lots of things well in order to win at Camp Nou. You need to have a perfect game.”
The Andalusians will be without defensive trio Daniel Carrico, Nico Pareja and Gabriel Mercado for the trip to Barca, while creative midfielder Joaquin Correa is similarly absent.
Barcelona (probable): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Paulinho; Deulofeu, Messi, Suarez
Injuries/suspensions: Arda, Vidal, Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Gomes, Dembele (I)
Sevilla (probable): Sergio Rico; Corchia, Kjaer, Lenglet, Carole; N’Zonzi, Pizarro, Krohn-Dehli; Navas, Muriel, Sarabia
Injuries/suspensions: Carrico, Pareja, Joaquin Correa, Mercado (I)
Referee: Gonzalez Gonzalez
Form guide: Barca – 1st (W W D W W) Sevilla – 5th (W L L W L)
Previous meeting: Barca 3-0 Sevilla
Venue: Camp Nou
Kick-off time: 19:45 GMT/20:45 CET (LIVE on Football Espana)
