Busquets has to be stopped & Messi is a pillar of Barca, says Leganes midfielder

Leganes' Ruben Perez will be doing his utmost to nullify Sergio Busquets when they take on Barcelona this weekend.

The midfielder is expected to make his 100th appearance for the club, and he says they're going out to win.

He sat to speak with MARCA ahead of the game.

Are you ready for Barcelona?

I feel good. We've had the break and it's been good for me to catch up. I trained with the team during the second week and there was a lot of desire. We all need to be present and make sure we're competitive.

With what weapons can you stop Barcelona?

The most important thing is to grant little or nothing. We have to defend perfectly and to take advantage of the chances we have. This is football though and if you make it to 40 minutes with a clean sheet then everything looks more optimistic.

Would a draw against Barcelona be positive?

We look at the table and we're the worst in the league. It's not invented, they're the facts. We need to win. We're facing one of the best in the world and it'll be hard, but we're looking to win.

Lionel Messi is a pillar of the team. Have you a special plan for him?

No, Barcelona have great players, although Messi is above the rest. We have to be attentive to him. He's not half the team but he's a great player. There are 10 more and we can't forget [Luis] Suarez, [Frenkie] De Jong, [Antoine] Griezmann...

Sergio Busquets is another who has to be stopped, right?

If you don't understand football you don't care, but we know Busquets' importance. Barcelona's football starts with him. He's a player we have to cover.

We are not seeing splendid football from Barcelona. Is that taken into account?

LaLiga Santander is more balanced each year. Maybe we wrongly got used to seeing Real Madrid and Barcelona up there with 100 points, but now the lower sides are capable of beating the top clubs. Everything is more even and there is more competitions. We are capable of beating anyone.