Messi, Eibar's nightmare

It's fair to say that Eibar don't enjoy playing against Barcelona and Lionel Messi.

Jose Luis Mendilibar's side have taken just one point from 33 possible against the Blaugrana since earning promotion to LaLiga Santander in 2014.

In his 10 league appearances against Eibar, Messi has scored 16 goals - seven at the Camp Nou and eight at Ipurua.

"I'm not counting on that," Mendilibar said on Thursday when asked about whether he thought Messi would be rested for Saturday's game.

"That bastard rests during the game. He knows when he has to participate, when he has to rest during the game... I'm convinced that if he was given the day off work, he would have a worse time watching from the stands and get more tired."

While Mendilibar has always been outspoken with his admiration for Messi, he's never been able to find a way to stop him.

The Argentine has scored 28 goals in 22 games against teams coached by Mendilibar, whether that's Osasuna, Real Valladolid, Levante or Eibar.