Barça are the team to beat in the Champions League

Madrid yes or Madrid no? The big debate among Barcelona supporters was whether this was the moment to take on Zinedine Zidane's side in the Champions League or if it was better to meet a more beatable rival, with the risk of eventually facing Los Blancos in the final. 

The dressing room, always pragmatic, preferred a less demanding opponent, like Roma or Liverpool, and the chance to get through to the last four -- they got Roma. La Liga is not yet sentenced but it's well on track and Barça are already through to the Copa del Rey final, so they can focus on the Champions League. 

Messi and Valverde's Barça came through a complicated tie to reach this stage, suffering more against Chelsea than the final scoreline suggested. Now they go into the final stages of the Champions League with a good chance to win it. They have earned the right to be considered the favourites: they have their domestic league in the bag and have demonstrated a solidity and reliability in Europe only comparable to Manchester City. 

However, they play in a much more powerful league than they admired and praised Premier League, as has been proven in the round of 16. Once again, the English sides have begun to collapse when it matters and three of their five side fell at the most recent hurdle. 

But, in addition, Barça have Messi in ridiculous form. That's a big enough argument on its own to make them the favourites for the competition. And to round it off, Valverde's made them even better in defence (29 clean sheets in 46 games). For all of those reasons, and with the necessary caution, Varcelona deserve to be considered the team to beat in the Champions League 2017/18.