Barcelona: Messi and Suarez leading charge before Manchester United

From Left: Barcelona Argentine forward Lionel Messi and Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez - Getty

It's fair to say Barcelona are very happy with life at the moment.

Sitting pretty 11 points clear at the top of La Liga and through to the Spanish Cup final, Ernesto Valverde's team will be full of
confidence when they head to Manchester United for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

Their latest triumph was a hard-earned 2-0 home win over nearest league challengers Atletico Madrid on Saturday night, which did not come easily but eventually showed exactly why Barca should be feared as they head to Old Trafford.

A magnificent goalkeeping display by Atletico keeper Jan Oblak looked to have earned Atletico a point, but then Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi decided enough was enough.

The bad news for Manchester United is that Suarez and Messi have both been producing those heroics on a regular basis - in fact, they had done so just four days earlier, rescuing a point at Villarreal with a pair of late strikes as Messi crashed home a free-kick and Suarez netted a spectacular volley.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi celebrate goal - Getty

Between them, they have scored 14 goals in the last six games (10 for Messi, four for Suarez), with Messi taking his tally for the season to 43 goals in 40 games (he also has 17 assists).

Messi and Suarez work brilliantly together.

But Manchester United should not lose all hope, because they are certainly not unbeatable.

The Catalan side's biggest weakness is a defensive vulnerability against rapid counter-attacks, which was particularly evident in Wednesday's stunning 4-4 draw at relegation-threatened Villarreal.

So there are reasons for United to believe they can find a way past Messi-inspired Barca, but it will surely be anything but easy. BBC Sport