3 reasons why Barcelona will have a greater chance of winning the 2018/19 Champions League ahead of Real Madrid 

#1 Squad Depth

Lionel Messi vs. Sergio Ramos

The departures of star players like Ronaldo to Juventus and Kovavic to Chelsea is a big cause for concern for the Galacticos as the club president, Fiorentino Perez haven’t found a suitable replacement for Real Madrid's best player in history.

Although Real Madrid signed seven players this summer, only goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Alvaro Odriozola, Mariano Diaz and Vinicius Junior can compete with the present players in the squad.

Apart from Barcelona's club record signing of Coutinho from Liverpool during the winter transfer, the Catalan giant have also welcomed more quality signings like Malcom’s £40 million transfer from Bordeaux and Arturo Vidal £18 million from Bayern Munich.

Summarily, Real Madrid have more players in their squad but those players are not enough in quality for an elite competition like the Champions League.

Best Six Defenders

· Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Raphael Varane, Nacho and Odriozola

· Barcelona: Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Nelson Semedo, Clement Lenglet, and Cucurella.

Conclusion: Real Madrid Obviously have the better defenders

Best Six Midfielders

· Real Madrid: Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Isco, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos.

· Barcelona: Ivan Rakitic, Coutinho, Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal, Arthur and Sergi Roberto.

Conclusion: Both teams have fantastic midfielders. The Madrid contingent have marshalled Europe for the past three seasons but Barcelona have excellent players at the heart of the midfield. There’s no obvious winner.

Best Five Forwards

· Real Madrid: Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Lucas Vasquez, Mariano Diaz and Vinicius Junior

Real Madrid give Ronaldo's jersey number to €30m forward from Lyon; Mariano Diaz

Barcelona: Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele, Malcom and Munir El Haddadi

FC Barcelona's

Malcom

v Boca Juniors - Joan Gamper

TrophyM

Conclusions: Barcelona have better options than Real Madrid.

With the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo’s guaranteed 12-goals per season in Champions League and Messi’s immaculate contribution to Barca’s attacking prowess, Real Madrid will struggle to adapt without the influence or replacement of CR7.