Vinicius Junior has stated that Real Madrid are not scared of Lionel Messi ahead of back-to-back fixtures with Barcelona.

The two teams meet in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night, while the league encounter at the Bernabeu takes place at the weekend.

Messi is Barcelona's key man ahead of the two El Clasico contests, but Vinicius Junior is confident that he and his teammates can nullify the Argentine.

The 18-year-old is quoted by Marca as saying: "Our fans need to help us but if we play like we did in the Camp Nou then we can win the game. We are ready for everything and Messi is an incredible player for them who does things that nobody else does.

"Everyone is really looking forward to the game and we aren't afraid of Messi despite him being a great player because we have the best in the world."

The clubs played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie at Camp Nou.