5 teams that could dethrone Real Madrid as European champions

#3 Barcelona

Barcelona players celebrate their goal against Sevilla

The Catalonians are through to the Champions League's round of 16, as group winners. They also top La Liga, five points ahead of second-placed Valencia. This isn't a fair depiction of their form though, as most of Barca's wins have not been comprehensive and their biggest rivals are having a meltdown.

This is not the trademark Barcelona, but neither is this the blunt Barcelona of last season. Ernesto Valverde has revived the side and they already have one hand on the league title. The Champions League, however, is a more daunting challenge and Valverde's inexperience will be put to test on the big stage.

He has shifted Barcelona's style of play from the naive direct football Enrique was trying to use. In this venture, he has used Neymar's departure as an opportunity, which has prompted both, Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic to state how the Brazilian's move to Paris Saint-Germain has come as a boon.

He has made the midfield more compact and the defence, impenetrable. The manager has made it clear that the team's game will be centred around the best player of this generation; which is only obvious.

But this overdependency could backfire in important knockout matches, where Messi could be injured or marked out of the game.The victim of this shift of strategy, however, is Luis Suarez, who looks like a shadow of his former free-scoring self.

The odds are only going to increase, with Ousmane Dembele's return by Christmas and an easy La Liga campaign. And with the G.O.A.T. in your lineup, nothing is really impossible.