4 reasons why Barcelona could win the treble this season
We have passed the midway point of the European footballing season and there have been lots of entertainment, shocks and thrills along the way. Some teams have disappointed, while others have lived up to their billing and some league races are as good as over, while others are still very open.
Some clubs have already fallen some way off reaching their season objectives, while others remain very much on course to reach their targets.
One of the clubs in the latter category is Barcelona, as the Catalans hold a significant five-point advantage over Atletico Madrid at the summit of the La Liga table, while they were also handed a relatively favorable fixture (on paper) against Lyon in the Champions League.
Barca have very much been the dominant force in Spain in the last few years, winning the Copa del Rey in each of the last four seasons consecutively, while also triumphing in LaLiga seven out of the last ten times.
However, for all of their domestic dominance, it is in Europe where Barca's main aspirations lie, as the Blaugrana have been without continental success since 2015, even failing to make it to the semi-final in each of those seasons, with their failures made all the more bitter by the fact that arch-enemies Real Madrid have won all UCL titles since then.
With a history as illustrious as theirs, as well as the caliber of players on display at the club, a lot of expectations always lies on Barcelona, as they are always among the favorites for all tournaments they find themselves in and are expected to win every trophy available to them and win so with style.
With over 90 major trophies, the club is among the most successful of all time, while the fact that they are the only side in history to have won two trebles only puts more pressure on them to deliver such every other year.
Having faltered in Europe in recent years, Barcelona look very much on course to match their feats from 2009 and 2015.
In this piece, we would be highlighting four factors which could see Barcelona win the third treble in their history this season.
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#4 Other big guns are faltering
With LaLiga all but a foregone conclusion for Barcelona (barring any major blip), coupled with their seemingly everlasting stranglehold on the Copa del Rey almost guaranteeing that another domestic double would be won this season, it is the Champions League that represents the biggest threat to Barcelona's quest for a treble this term.
Once again, the odds also appear to favor the Blaugrana on the continent, as most of their major rivals to the continental crown happen to be floundering at the moment.
Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, these are the names usually thrown into the hat along with Barcelona at the start of every season as the teams who would likely triumph in the UCL, as the quintet have dominated the competition, making it into the latter stages more times than any other in the last six years.
However, of all those aforementioned names, only Juventus can legitimately claim to be in form this season, as Bayern, Real Madrid and Atletico have all looked out of sorts this campaign.
Although there are other credible teams who could mount a challenge such as Manchester City and PSG, who are also in good form, Barcelona's major challengers (in particular Real Madrid) have been uncharacteristically off color this season and this is a factor which could see Barcelona get their long-awaited triumph in the Champions League.
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