Osasuna will need ‘handcuffs and a pistol’ to stop Lionel Messi, their players jokingly remarked ahead of their Camp Nou trip on Wednesday.
La Liga’s basement club will be without central defender Nikola Vujadinovic while there is a doubt about on-loan goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, who has been suffering with discomfort in his shoulder.
"I've already said that we need a plan for Messi and the players told me [that we need to] carry handcuffs and a pistol," Osasuna Coach Vasiljevic told a news conference.
"He disconnects, but later he plugs [himself] in for 10 minutes and does what he does.
“We have to go out and compete, without fear. We know what level we're going to find, we know [Barcelona] are in a very good dynamic and playing very well.
"[Barcelona] have a very good dynamic to fight for the championship – they are performing very well and any player, with the quality they have, can determine a match.
"They are back into the race [after the victory at the Bernabeu] and they can't afford to fail in front of their fans and I understand that it will be tough."
