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The golden era of FC Barcelona will always be regarded as the time when they won a whopping 19 titles in a span of seven years, from 2008 to 2015. During that stretch, they were the only team in Europe to win two “trebles” - in the respective seasons of 2008-09 and 2014-15.
In those days, Barcelona dominated their opponents in every department of the field, and outplayed them in every footballing aspect.
In recent years their aspirations to win all three competitions have seen a massive dent due to three consecutive failures at the Champions League quarterfinals. But this year, it seems like they have got all the boxes ticked to win all three.
Leaders in LaLiga
Barcelona are currently seven points ahead of Atlético Madrid after their recent triumph against arch-rivals Real Madrid, and are the favourites to lift the LaLiga title for a fourth time in the last five years. Atlético will face Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the 7th of April which might decide the fate of LaLiga; if Barcelona manage to get a point from that fixture, it will be hard to make a case against them.
Apart from the Atletico game, the Blaugrana will also have to manage some tricky fixtures like the away games against both Celta de Vigo and Real Betis. Barcelona might drop some points here and there, but at the same time you don’t expect Atlético to win all the remaining fixtures.
Winnable Round of 16 Champions League tie
In Champions league, Barcelona will face Lyon at the Camp Nou on the 13th of March in the Round of 16 return leg. Given the attacking nature of the both sides, it is still a wonder how the game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes at Lyon. But with Barcelona's prowess at home you won't want to bet against them in the upcoming return leg.
This season Lionel Messi has scored six goals and assisted once in five matches, including a hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven, in the Champions League. His experience along with his appetite to win more, will be really handy in the latter stages.
Though the over-dependence on Messi has hurt Barcelona in recent years, like the “tragedy” in Rome last season, the recent results in El Clásico prove that Barcelona are more than just a one-man army.
Considering the situations that the other big teams are in, you have to say that at this moment Barcelona are among the favourites to win the Champions League.
Finalists in Copa del Rey
Barcelona will also play against Valencia on the 25th of May in the final of the Copa del Rey.
Valencia are one of the only teams that Barcelona did not manage to beat this season, drawing 1-1 at Mestalla in early October and 2-2 in February. But with the record that the Catalan side have in the finals, you have to say that they are huge favourites to win their 5th consecutive Copa del Rey title.
Though it is still early to predict, especially in the Champions League, the signs are very good for Barcelona fans. But in order to bring three trophies back at the Camp Nou by the end of the season, Barcelona would need to maximize their strengths and work on their weaknesses, which are described below.
Strengths
The cutting edge that Ousmane Dembélé has brought to Barcelona is immense. His pace, creativity and natural ability to change a game can really be helpful in the latter stages of the Champions League.
The 21-year-old French attacker has already scored 13 goals and assisted 5 times for the Catalan side this season.
The resurrection of Luis Suárez’s form has given Barcelona new aspirations too. His recent brace against Real Madrid was a reminder to everyone how lethal he can be in front of goal. And his prowess to perform in big matches can only be compared to a few players.
As usual, Messi has been in spectacular form this season. The blue-eyed boy of Barcelona has already scored 33 goals in just 34 appearances along with 14 assists, and looks hungry for more.
Arthur Melo has been magnificent for Barcelona throughout the season and has a passing accuracy of 94% with an average of as many as 54 passes per game. Since his arrival in the summer, he has solved a lot of issues - Messi can now focus more on the attacking third, the workload of Rakitić has been reduced, and Busquets has found a great partner to dominate the midfield.
In the defence, the partnership of Pique and Lenglet is looking rock-solid, and things will only improve when Umtiti will be fully match fit. Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is also having one of the best seasons of his career; the German shot-stopper played brilliantly in back-to-back El Clásicos to keep Real Madrid at bay.
Weaknesses
Barcelona have been poor in stopping opponents from creating chances; if the opponents were more clinical in front of goal, the results would have been very different.
Another weakness that Barcelona need to work on is the defending against skillful players. Vinícius Júnior tore them apart in the first of the back-to-back El Clásicos.
The one area that has always been Barcelona’s Achilles' heel is the art of defending against counter-attacks. If they want to do well in the latter part of the Champions League, they must sort this out very soon.
