5 factors which may aid Barcelona's quest for the treble

The treble was for a long time considered the Holy Grail by Cules but following the club's great run this season, the team is firmly back in the hunt for its 3rd treble in 9 seasons.

Barcelona has recovered brilliantly following the 5-1 humiliation at the hands of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.

The Blaugrana hasn't lost a single game in La Liga this season. In fact, their only defeat of the season came up against local rivals Espanyol in the Copa Del Rey which could not cause any damage as Barca won 2-1 on aggregate.

The team is 7 points clear at the top of the league table, have reached the final of the Copa Del Rey and are well prepared for the upcoming Champions League return leg against Chelsea at the Nou Camp.

Here is a look at some of the factors that could help the Blue & Red achieve its dream of a third treble in 9 years:

#1 A rock-solid defence

Barca has always been a team which refuses to "Park the Bus" to win games and their flamboyant attack always ensured that they never had the need to change their tactics.

However, Luis Enrique had a tough time handling the team's defensive woes in his last season. Barcelona lost 3-0 at home to Juventus after a near to impossible comeback against Paris in the Champions League and these lapses in concentration also cost them heavily in the league.

Ernesto Valverde's hard task was clearly amplified after the sloppy defensive display in the Spanish Super Cup.

Now that we are past the halfway mark of the season, it seems that Valverde has identified and fixed the team's defensive issues. Barca has the second-best defence in La Liga (12) as only the ultra-defensive Atletico Madrid has conceded less (11).

They look more organized and the complacency seems to have been removed. Pique is back in form while Samuel Umtiti & Jordi Alba have been like new signings. To add even more surprise, Thomas Vermaelen continues to dazzle fans and pundits alike with his newfound brilliance.

The addition of signings Yerry Mina & Nelson Semedo has also given the team more defensive options and has improved the solidity at the back.

#2 Rejuvenated midfield

FC Barcelona v Getafe CF - Liga BBVA

Barcelona's godfather Johann Cryuff instilled the tradition of governing the game through the midfield. Pep, being a descendant of Cryuff's system, built the team on these principles and thus turned out to be super successful.

The attacking trio of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi had a reputation of destroying the most stubborn defences using the tiki-taka strategy. The departure of Xavi and Iniesta's age caused various problems for Barca after the historic 2015 season.

Midfield issues sat at the heart of the problems faced by Barca, but this season has portrayed a different picture.

Busquets is currently in the form of his life with - his vision and skill have climbed up to previously unseen heights. Iniesta's decreased injury woes have also contributed to the reduced headache for Barca fans. While Rakitic has lacked concentration on many occasions, some of his mistakes have been overshadowed by the masterclass of Iniesta and Busquets and the Croatian has been good in short bursts.

The inclusion of Paulinho has also added a new dimension to the Barcelona midfield. His style of play is nowhere near to that of a typical Barca player, but his physicality is what has helped Barcelona throughout the season. He is a potential candidate for pouncing on headers during corner-kicks and fulfils the role of a central-defensive midfielder very well.

#3 New Talents

Barcelona v Girona - La Liga

The post tiki-taka period of Barcelona has often been termed as boring - their style of rotating the ball calmly from one wing to another, frustrating the opposite team and then waiting for one defence-splitting pass before someone tucks the ball into the back of the net.

This style of play has largely been ineffective against defensively organised teams, which sit back and wait for Barcelona to penetrate their defences rather than take the game to them. Their current style of play will hardly help them if they want to reach their high goals for the season. This is where the new signings come in.

The addition of Dembele and the upgrade of Sergi Roberto has added depth to Barcelona's attack. Dembele is capable of splitting any defence with his pace and ecstatic touches. Roberto, on the other hand, stands on the verge of fitting into Dani Alves' role at the right-back slot.

Turning around defensive moves into attacking ones using his pace and dribbling, Roberto has proved his abilities time and time again starting from the scintillating run in the historic 3-2 victory at the Bernabeu.

Now that Coutinho has joined their ranks - someone who has the vision and quality to find the back of the net from outside the box, the only way is up.

#4 The return of Jordi Alba

A new hope

Neymar's departure has extracted the best out of various Barca players and Jordi Alba is the player who has benefitted the most.

Neymar was a brilliant player at Barca with his trickeries and fancy skills but these skills by Neymar were often the reason for Barca losing the possession of the ball on the left flank which forced Jordi Alba to devote all his energy to scaling the length of the pitch.

Now, the tables have turned and Alba has been eased off his defensive duties relatively. With Messi playing in a free role and Suarez as the lone striker up-front, Jordi Alba gets the opportunity to express himself along the left flank in both the defensive as well as the attacking positions.

His chemistry with Messi has been a pleasure to watch throughout the season. He has boosted the attacking prospects without putting a question mark on the defensive front. With Barcelona in sight of a third treble this season, Alba carries the hopes of a million Cules.

#5 The little magician

Messi has been the backbone for FCB this season!

How can we exclude Messi while talking about Barcelona's strengths?

Time and time again he has proved his mettle. In the most crucial situations, Messi has acted as the beacon of hope and leads from the front.

Barcelona is full of match winners and so is every other team in the champions league, but only Barcelona has Messi. He sits atop the scoring and assists charts of La Liga, so far with 22 goals and 12 assists.

It would be unjust to judge Messi based on his statistics because it is impossible for any statistician to limit the masterclass of this playmaker in terms of mere facts and figures. Messi will surely have to be the Most Valuable Player for Barcelona if they aim for a third treble this season.