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#4 Favourable fitness record
17 of Barcelona's squad players have succumbed to injuries during this season, however, just 4 of those players have been sidelined with long-term injuries. So far, only Samuel Umtiti, Ousmane Dembele, Andre Gomes and Arda Turan have undergone several weeks wait to return to first-team action.
Contrast those figures with that of Real Madrid, who have had 6 players out for three weeks or more this season and you start to grasp the significance of a fit squad.
Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have endured two and three separate injury spells respectively during this season alone. Not only were Real hit harder by long-term injuries, the fact that it inflicted some of their key players effectively spelt doom for Los Blancos.
Perhaps most importantly, Barcelona's key man, Lionel Messi remained fit and firing throughout the entirety of the season thus far, and it was perhaps no coincidence that their fortunes have been so favourable during this time period.
