Last season
Barcelona could not have asked for a better season than what was the 2014/15 season, the Catalan club have been in contention for the major trophies available for the last decade and this past season was no different. They were under the reigns of new man Luis Enrique, who had a lot to prove after the success of the last few years.
However, it looked to be a nightmare for the first half of the season with the side not performing up to its highest standards and star man Lionel Messi was reportedly unhappy at the Nou Camp. After the Christmas period saw a complete turnaround pulling out all of the stops over the next five months and were rewarded massively with their second treble bringing the La Liga, Copa Del Rey and UEFA Champions League titles back to Catalonia.
Transfers
Despite their transfer embargo, it has not stopped the European giants from being busy in the transfer window - managing to spend £35.7million pounds to sign Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal from Atlético Madrid and Sevilla respectively. The only downside, is that neither of their arrivals will be allowed to make their competitive debuts until January, when the transfer ban is officially lifted.
The only major departure for Barça has been the loss of legendary midfielder Xavi to Qatar side Al-Sadd, despite being 35 years of age, the Spaniard could still have had a major impact on the squad - with not only with his quality but his sheer presence within the dressing room.
Despite that there have not been any other major departures. Gerard Deulofeu, Martin Montoya and Ibrahim Afellay have left the club; making moves to Everton, Inter Milan and Stoke City respectively. Their transfer actions have been quite successful this campaign considering the restrictions against them. It is not the spectacular window that they had last season when they strengthened their squad significantly, especially in the striker and goalkeeping positions with Luis Suárez and Marc-Andre ter Stegen having been brought in this time last summer. But they have done enough this year to solidify weak positions.
Manager
Enrique will already be familiar to Barcelona fans - having played at the Nou Camp for eight years between 1996 and 2004 making 207 appearances and scoring 73 goals in that time. In 2008 he followed in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola taking charge of the Barcelona B, after three years he moved onto Serie A side AS Roma which didn’t go exactly to plan with the Giallorossi failing to qualify for any European competition.
He then had a season with Celta Vigo before returning to Barça to take charge of the first-team, there was minor blip in form which saw his managerial credentials called into question and it was made worse with a reported quarrel with Messi and other members of the squad.
A defeat to Real Sociedad saw a complete turnaround in form with the victory over Paris Saint-Germain been his 42nd victory in his 50th game in charge which was the best record of any manager. Enrique ended up with a treble which earned him a contract extension until 2017.
Despite that extension rumours still circulated that he could leave Barca, but it does seem that Enrique will be staying on and will be under pressure to match and possibly even outshine last year’s heroics.
First six fixtures
The opening of the La Liga could prove a tricky test for Enrique’s starting the season with an away trip to Athletic Club, they managed the treble over the club last season with 2-0 and 5-2 in the league as well as a 3-1 victory in the final of the Copa Del Rey. Despite that they shouldn’t lose concentration as Athletic are capable of beating anyone on their day.
It doesn’t get any easier from there when they begin their home campaign with a visit from tricky customers Malaga. Barcelona failed to beat the Anchovies last season playing out a goalless draw at the La Rosaleda Stadium early in the season before suffering a 1-0 defeat at the Nou Camp which ended a run of six wins.
Their third match of the new season will see their biggest test so far when they travel to the Vicente Calderon to take on Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid. Atletico have managed to keep some of their best players such as Antoine Griezmann and strengthen their squad in the process and could prove a very stern test. In terms of form, Barca do have the upper hand having won all four of their meetings last season in La Liga and the quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey.
After the tricky trio of opening fixtures things do seem to get easier with a home fixture against Levante following the trip to Atletico, they ran riot last year in both fixtures managing 5-0 victories both home and away and they will be hoping to repeat that this time around.
Next up will be a trip to the Balaidos to take on Celta Vigo, they proved to be very difficult opponents last season with Vigo edging out 1-0 win at the Nou Camp and goal from Jeremy Mathieu just edging out a 1-0 victory in what was a close affair back in April.
The sixth match will be their first against one of the La Liga newcomers with Las Palmas making the trip to Barcelona. Palmas is the only top flight club to come from Tenerife and this will be their first time in the top flight in 13 years and have asserted their determination to make their stay longer than a season signing Everton’s Antolin Alcaraz, but it does seem that they will suffer defeat here.
Derby days
There is only one pair of matches that fans look for when the fixtures are released and that is the El Clasíco against bitter rivals Real Madrid.
The first one of the season will be an away trip to the Bernabeú on November 8 while the home leg will take place five months later at the Nou Camp on April 3.
They will be looking to improve on last year’s result at Madrid’s ground with the 3-1 defeat proving to be Enrique’s first loss as head coach at the club, they did improve on that in the home fixture managing to edge out a 2-1 victory over Carlo Ancelotti's side.
The other fixture that fans look out for is the Catalan derby with Espanyol also known as the Derby Barcelona which is the most played derby in the history of the Spanish top flight. The first match between the two will come right after the winter break on January 3 before the second leg will be played in the run-in towards the end of the season on May 8. Enrique will be looking for a similar performance like last season fixtures with Barcelona winning both home and away fixtures 5-1 and 2-0 respectively.
Most important player
There are a number of influential players that are in the Barcelona side but it seems obvious that their most important player will once again be forward Messi.
The Argentine is considered by the masses as the best player on the planet and could be even considered the best player that ever lived. Messi's influence on the side is evident scoring an astounding 58 goals last season and providing help for his teammates.
The likes of Neymar, Luis Suárez and Ivan Rakitic will also prove influential in the side with their excellence to help Barca reach another level in the 2015/16 season.
Predicted finish
La Liga - 1st
It's highly unlikely that Enrique can better the heroics of last season, but can certainly match it and will start by retaining the Spanish league title. There will be competition from likes of Madrid and Atlético like every other year, but you'd expect Barça are just too strong to be defeated.
Copa Del Rey - winners
Likewise in the domestic competition of the Copa Del Rey, you'd expect they will coast to another victory - they had quite an easy passage into the final I think that they will coast to another victory, they have quite an easy passage into the final last season and it does seem it could happen again. If they were to come up against side like Real in the final who beat Barca two years ago in the competition but I believe that they will have enough to lift the trophy.
Champions League - winners
However their biggest test will be to retain the Champions League trophy, a feat which has yet to be completed by any team. The general consensus would be, that the La Liga giants would steamroll their way into the quarter-final stage of the competion, at the very least.
However it could prove to be difficult with the usual clubs all been in contention of reaching the final - however you'd expect the likes of Real Madrid and the Bayern Munich do not yet have what it takes this season to pull it off which could contribute to Enrique's men creating a piece of valuable history.