Barcelona Captain set for landmark LaLiga match

Iniesta calls on cules to believe comeback is possible

It has been a week to forget for all involved with Barcelona yet a glimmer of positive news is just around the corner in the shape of Andres Iniesta's 400th LaLiga game for the club.

Nobody will be more acutely aware of the disappointment of Tuesday's 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain than Iniesta himself, but Sunday's clash with Leganes is a landmark moment whichever way you look at it.

Reaching the top level in football is tricky and so many fall short, but the true test of greatness is staying there - and Iniesta has done just that with Los Cules.

Arguably the club's greatest ever achievements have all come with the diminutive midfield maestro in tow yet the 2016/17 campaign hasn't been an easy one for him.

When he hasn't been on the sidelines injured, he has seen his team be far less effective than in years gone by.

The 4-0 defeat in Paris and the way the effervescent Marco Verratti ran rings around him was at times difficult to watch.

He was not up to his own usual standard and Sunday's game is his first opportunity to put that right.

Since his debut in December 2002 under the stewardship of Louis van Gaal, Iniesta has grown into an icon and captain of the club.

The Camp Nou will look to forget the mid-week misery and hope the 32-year-old can drag the club back into contention for the LaLiga title despite Real Madrid's victory over Espanyol.

Over the course of his illustrious career he has played 191 complete matches with 288 appearances coming from the start with a further 117 from the bench.

Of those 400 matches played in LaLiga he has accumulated 280 victories, 74 draws and a miserly 45 defeats.

Only his close friend Xavi Hernandez, who boasts 505 LaLiga appearances, can surpass the achievements of Iniesta.

It is a turbulent time within the confines of the club at the present moment and the reality is that things are going to get tougher before they can get better.

Luis Enrique's position as coach is unclear beyond this season whilst Lionel Messi's contractual dispute is an issue which is rather surprisingly making next to no progress at all.

Iniesta's own contract is up in June 2018 also but the circumstances are different to those of the Argentine star.

The Spaniard would not want to play his football anywhere else, he is the elder statesman in a team that desperately needs leadership and he will see out the remainder of his playing career with the Blaugrana.

With that said, he will wait his turn to sign an extension and in the mean time focus on delivering as positive and end to the season as possible - starting with winning on Sunday.