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Barcelona regained the La Liga title last season after Real Madrid briefly took it away from them for only the second time in a decade. The Catalans have issues in their squad to deal with, but they have Lionel Messi and a manager who understands the demands of the league well in Ernesto Valverde.
They are well positioned to hold on to the title due to a number of reasons related to themselves and their main opponent Real Madrid who are undergoing some major changes ahead of the new season. Therefore, here are three reasons why Barca are likely to be league champions once again next season.
#3 Last season's signings are settled
Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona last season in the summer and January transfer windows respectively. They both showed signs of promise, but neither had a full season to prove themselves for different reasons. However, they had plenty of opportunities in the first-team last season as well as the upcoming pre-season to properly adjust to the club.
Both players were high profile signings for the club with significant transfer fees required to pry them away from their former clubs. They are at different stages of their careers because Dembele is still a hugely talented prospect while Coutinho is a key player for his club and national team after plying his trade in the Premier League with Liverpool.
The Brazilian midfielder will have the tough task of replacing the legendary figure of Andres Iniesta. He was able to learn directly from him for the second half of last season. His goalscoring prowess showed that he will bring a slightly different skill set to the team which is more direct in the final third.
Iniesta was adept at keeping play moving and working between the opposition lines, but often created the initial opening rather than scoring or assisting. However, he did score crucial goals throughout his career such as the winner against Chelsea in the 2008/09 Champions League semi-finals. Coutinho is much more of a distance shooting threat but also possesses the vision and technique to break down opposition low blocks.
Dembele is another decisive player in the final third, although he will be significantly less involved than Coutinho in the build-up and defensive work. He acts as the wide threat which ensures that the opposition can't congest the central areas because they risk leaving a full-back exposed in a 1v1 against him. The French winger will be crucial in breaking down stubborn opposition defences as well as providing a quick transition option if needed.
They add to a potent attack which already contains Messi and Luis Suarez. Therefore, Barcelona have the attacking tools to be a real threat next season while also providing Valverde with the option to revert back to a 4-3-3 formation.
#2 Managerial stability
This will be Valverde's second season in charge, so he has an advantage over Julen Lopetegui because he has already implemented his ideas. He may not be popular with some sections of the fanbase due to his seemingly pragmatic tactics and the disastrous display against Roma, but he has been successful so far with a domestic double last season.
His use of a 4-4-2 formation made Barcelona a lot stronger defensively even if it did go against the traditional principles of the club. Therefore, he has shown that he is willing to make major changes if needed as well as having an excellent understanding of the squad needs.
Lopetegui has a much harder task ahead of him because he has to convince the squad of the merit of his ideas. Real Madrid are notorious for having egos in the squad, so implementing a strict style of play on them can be tough.
Zidane had a relaxed approach which focused on managing the egos of the team, although he did make important changes such as bringing in Casemiro to anchor the midfield. However, his reputation as a player meant that it was easier for him to convince the players on the style he wanted to bring in. He often gave the side a lot of creative freedom, which brought the best out of players such as Marcelo, Luka Modric and Isco.
This approach worked well in the Champions League due to it being a knockout competition, so a number of strong performances were needed in the second half of the season rather than consistency throughout. The main issue with this can be seen in their disastrous league title defence last season.
Lopetegui has a possession-based approach with strong elements of positional play which could be seen in his work with the Spanish national team. Therefore, they will benefit from a structure to their play in the long-term especially with young talents such as Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio and new signing Alvaro Odriozola. However, it will take a while to convince the main players as well as actually implementing it. Success and patience in his methods isn't guaranteed either because a poor start could easily see him sacked such as Rafa Benitez in 2016.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo's imminent departure
This is a time of huge change for Los Blancos because Zinedine Zidane stepped down as manager after winning a third consecutive Champions League title. It also looks likely that they will have to replace their main star and chief goalscorer. He is close to joining Italian Champions Juventus.
Ronaldo has been linked with moves away previously, but this appears to be different because his relationship with Florentino Perez seems to have broken down.
He is key to their high goal output, with 44 goals in 44 games across all competitions last season. The team is built to provide him with plenty of service because they have a well-balanced midfield as well as Karim Benzema basically acting as a playmaker in order to facilitate Ronaldo's output at the expense of his own.
There are only a few players who can replicate that output even in a well-built team, so they are likely to suffer a downturn in the immediate future. Bringing in another top player to replace him should be a priority, and Perez is unlikely to miss an opportunity to do this after a number of austere seasons by Real's standards.
Real will still have a talented squad without him, but his goals took them to the next level. He's had a knack for scoring crucial goals in the Champions League over the past few seasons, although some of his teammates have been the key performers in the last four finals they have won.
The adjustment will be significant and that means that the upcoming season could be a period of transition as his replacement gets used to the club and the style that Lopetegui opts to bring in. The overhaul with the new manager coming in was likely to be significant, regardless, and this just adds to that because the focus of their attacking efforts was providing him with consistent service. Barcelona and potentially Atletico Madrid are set to benefit from that in the short-term.
