Sevilla director of football Joaquin Caparros has compared Lionel Messi to a lion ahead of his side’s visit to Barcelona this weekend.

The league leaders will face Messi and company on Saturday in a meeting of La Liga‘s top two, and Caparros is well aware of the threat Barcelona’s talisman will pose.

“Messi is like a lion,” he told Radio Marca.

A lion has to be caressed and you can put your hand in his mouth and he will not bite.

”But if you touch his claws, a lion can tear your head off.”

However, despite Barcelona’s obvious pedigree, Sevilla actually enter the game in better form, having won four straight league games, including a stunning 3-0 upset of Real Madrid.

La Blaugrana, on the other hand, are winless in their last four La Liga games, though they did register a Champions League victory over Tottenham during that stretch.