Messi leaves Madrid's 'BBC' in the dust

To date, the Barcelona forward has accumulated 20 goals and 12 assists in 24 games in La Liga, on par with the combined tally of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.

Madrid's 'BBC' have only found the back of the net once more than their rival and have provided three less assists (9), despite featuring in 51 matches, 44 of which as respective starters - almost double that of Messi.

Ronaldo has accelerated in recent weeks, much to the joy of 'Los Blancos'. His 12 league goals, as well as four assists, are so far carrying an otherwise lacklustre attacking threat.

For his part, Bale, who has once again been plauged by injuries, has scored six goals and one assist - a decent return taking into account that he has only played 10 games as a starter (14 in total).

Benzema is arguably the weakest link this season. In 15 starts and 18 total league appearances, the French striker has only mustered three goals and four assists.

However, him and his two strike partners will be hoping to surpass Messi's tally when they play Alaves in the 16:15 (CET) La Liga kick-off as they look to secure three points to reduce the deficit to Barcelona to 11 points, before their rivals face Girona at 20:45 (CET).