Motivated Lionel Messi will be vital for Barcelona: Former La Liga stars

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi. PIC/AFP

THE La Liga title race is set to go right down to the wire with four teams battling for the top spot and according to former Barcelona midfielder Gaizka Mendieta and ex-Sevilla striker Fredrick Kanoute, a motivated and in-form Lionel Messi will give the Catalan giants the upper hand going into the final stretch of the season.

Messi has been the key to Barcelona's title charge. The Argentine has been in top form this season, scoring 28 goals in 32 La Liga games.

"Definitely, with the kind of form Messi is in and how motivated he looks, he is vital for Barcelona's performance especially going forward. It is also kind of contagious when the players see their captain and leader motivated. And yes, in the second half of the tournament, he has been in unbelievable form," said Mendieta - a La Liga ambassador - during a virtual interaction earlier this week.

Kanoute too felt that with Messi in top shape, Barcelona might have a chance of winning the league this season.

"Barcelona have come back strongly and Messi is in top shape again. Even [striker Antoine] Griezmann is starting to get into good shape, they might have a chance," said Kanoute, a La Liga ambassador.

Former Sevilla striker Fredrick Kanoute (left) and former Barcelona midfielder Gaizka Mendieta

With four rounds to go, Barcelona are level with defending champions Real Madrid at 74 points, two points away from league leaders Atletico Madrid. Sevilla are placed fourth with six points adrift from the top spot.

The weekend will see all Top 4 sides in action against their title rivals. Barcelona host Atletico Madrid on Saturday, while Real Madrid lock horns with Sevilla at home on Sunday.

"It's a dream finish for La Liga this season. This season has been competitive. Atletico were ahead a few months ago, but Real Madrid and Barcelona have come back really strong without forgetting Sevilla, who also had a fantastic season. It is difficult to say which team will top the table. Looking at the calendar, all four teams have a tricky fixture. It's going to be very interesting," said Malian striker Kanoute, who scored 89 goals in 209 games for Sevilla.

Mendieta, who scored four goals in 33 games for Barcelona (2002-03], insisted the teams that win this weekend will gain a physiological edge going into the next games.

"Though it seems a lot is at stake this weekend, a lot can happen in the upcoming games regardless of the results in this weekend's matches. Like we saw how everyone declared Atletico as the champions when they were leading [by 10 points in January] and now you see they are in the fight again. So the winners will only get a physiological edge going into the last few matches. But the movement of the teams up and down the table will be fascinating to watch," said Mendieta, who scored eight goals in 40 games for Spain.

Watch all La Liga matches on Facebook.