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Unlike some clubs on the continent including Real Madrid, Catalan giants FC Barcelona are well known for their objective to give equal concentration to every competition they participate in during every campaign.
They are the only club in Europe to have won all accolades before them in a single year, claiming a whopping 6 trophies under Pep Guardiola in 2009 before going close again under Luis Enrique with 5 trophies in 2015.
Moreover, La Blaugrana are also the first European club to win the treble on two different occasions. After claiming total domestic and continental success under Guardiola during the 2008-09 season, Barcelona entered the history books by repeating the feat under the guidance of Luis Enrique, who delivered the UEFA Champions League, the LaLiga title and the Copa Del Rey trophy in the 2014-15 campaign.
Ever since then, La Blaugrana have been working hard to continue with their total domestic and continental dominance, but they have found it very difficult to return to that level, failing to win the UEFA Champions League in each of the past 3 years, as well as missing out on the LaLiga title during the 2016-17 campaign.
It looks like the Catalans are ready to complete a treble this term once again, and below are 5 things that point to this.
#5 Squad depth
The lack of squad depth is one of the factors which hindered Barcelona from claiming the treble in each of the past 3 seasons, but that problem has now been buried following a couple of successful transfers this year - with the Catalans now in possession of incredible talents on every area of the pitch - including the bench.
Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele have linked up with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez up front to give Ernesto Valverde plenty of options in attack, while Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Arthur Melo have been controlling games from the middle of the pitch.
Summer signing, Clement Lenglet has been a huge influence at the back alongside the likes of Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, and Sergi Roberto - with Ter Stegen raising his game to an incredible level, and is arguably the most impressive goalkeeper in Europe at the moment.
The club also possesses immense quality away from the starting line-up, with the likes of Malcom, Nelson Semedo, Arturo Vidal, Denis Suarez, Jasper Cillessen, and Munir El-Haddadi providing quality support from the bench.
With these incredible players in their ranks, there is no doubt Barcelona have a squad capable and ready to deliver a treble this term.
#4 Incredible start across all competitions
For any club to win the treble, it must perform extraordinarily at both continental and domestic levels, and Barcelona have taken a huge step towards their treble ambition this season, with La Blaugrana having earned a brilliant start across all competitions this term.
The Catalans sit comfortably on top the LaLiga table, with 3 points ahead of second-placed Espanyol after 11 matches so far, and they are also the first side to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League - having pulled a massive 10 points from a possible 12, and flying on top of Group B in the European tournament.
Ernesto Valverde's men also began their Copa Del Rey campaign on a brilliant note, opening the tournament with a 1-0 victory over third-division side, Cultural Leonesa, and they are looking very confident and ready to fight for all three trophies before them this season.
#3 The midfield is back to life
Having lost significant strength in the middle of the pitch following the departures of midfield maestros, Xavier Hernandez and Andres Iniesta during the past few years, Barcelona have finally strengthened in that area, and they currently have one of the most impressive midfield setups in Europe at the moment.
Summer signing, Arthur Melo has taken everyone by surprise with his incredible start to life in the Catalan capital, quickly establishing himself in the Barcelona midfield, and making the Camp Nou faithful believe they have seen a perfect replacement for their departed legend - Xavier Hernandez.
Sergio Busquets is an awoken man in the center of the pitch, while Ivan Rakitic has taken his game to an incredible height since the beginning of the term. With this trio in extraordinary form, Barcelona have found it very easy to control games this season, implementing their tiki-taka system, and wreaking havoc on opposition teams.
#2 Lionel Messi's influence
It doesn't require any calculation to realise that Lionel Messi remains the most influential superstar in the Barcelona camp as long as he plays, and the playmaker has entered into the season in electrifying form, putting up a number of spectacular performances, and boosting La Blaugrana's hopes of claiming the treble during the term.
The Argentine has been highly influential in the UEFA Champions League, helping the club earn a brilliant start to their European campaign by bagging a fantastic hat-trick to inspire a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven, before leading the club to another vital 4-2 thrashing of Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur - a game in which he also bagged 2 goals.
Messi has also been very impressive in LaLiga, recording an incredible 7 goals and 5 assists to his name in 9 appearances in the Spanish top flight, as well as helping to establish the Catalans on top of the league table before going on a short injury layoff.
With the playmaker in such explosive form, there is no doubt Barcelona have a huge chance of claiming the treble this term.
All stats via transfermarkt
#1 They are finally over the 'Messidepencia' curse
I mentioned in the previous slide that Lionel Messi is the most influential and indispensable superstar at the Nou Camp, but there is more to this current Barcelona side than the mercurial Argentine - just as we have witnessed in the past few matches in which the playmaker did not feature.
The 5-time Ballon d'Or winner picked up an injury recently during a LaLiga fixture against Sevilla, which forced him out of action for three weeks, and put Barcelona in a delicate situation as they entered into a run of crucial fixtures.
But the team responded perfectly, claiming 4 victories and 1 draw from their last 5 games across all competitions, including a 5-1 humiliation of arch-rivals Real Madrid at Camp Nou.
Such incredible results suggest that Barcelona have finally overcome their over-reliance on the attacker, and that will enormously boost their chances of winning the treble this term as the team has proven that they can step up in big games when the Argentine has an off day or suffers an injury.
