Luis Suarez Is the Key to Barcelona's 2014/15 Title Challenge

As Barcelona limped to a 0-0 draw at La Rosaleda on Wednesday, one man will have been itching to get on the pitch and make his mark. That man is Luis Suarez.

The controversial Uruguayan was on the mark twice in a friendly this week, which served as a reminder as to his importance to the team. In fact, Luis Suarez holds the key to Barcelona's season and may well be the reason they challenge for the title once more.

Of course, Lionel Messi remains the main man at Barcelona. How could he not? The Argentinian is a force of nature on his day and better than most even when it is not his day. Where Barcelona fell short last season and the reason they failed to win the title is that they had no Plan B when Messi's influence waned. Without Messi they were toothless. Tiki-taka was dead.

Suarez may just solve that problem.

The Uruguayan was electric for Liverpool last season, scoring an unprecedented 33 goals for the Reds to fuel their first title charge in years. What most impressed, however, and what will be most valuable to Barcelona was his unpredictability. Suarez scored every type of goal you could think of and then some. 

For all Messi's brilliance with the ball at his feet he is a fairly predictable threat. Defenders know he will try to drop the shoulder and breeze past them before inevitably going for goal with his left foot.

This does not make him less of a threat; it is just a seemingly well-defined one. The opposition can prepare, at least in theory.

With Suarez there is none of that.

Suarez is so unpredictable that he occasionally looks as if he surprises himself, as seen after he put yet another hat-trick past Norwich City at Anfield last year. There is no preparation for teams that are facing Suarez; he is a mercurial talent who offers an already formidable Barcelona side yet another option up front, and this is why he is key.

The Uruguayan will help Barcelona to avoid that predictability that has occasionally plagued them over the last two seasons. This was typified by their performance against Bayern Munich in the 2012/13 Champions League semi-final.

Bayern not only beat Barcelona, they demolished them 7-0 on aggregate, including a 3-0 win at the Nou Camp.

This was a match that, looking at the stats without the scoreline, you might assume Barcelona won. As per BBC Sport, they had more possession, more corners and more shots on target.

Crucially though, this didn't matter, as the Barcelona side failed to break down a stubborn Bayern defence as they became trapped playing tiki-taka football outside the penalty area. Messi was admittedly injured for this game, but Suarez would also help relieve some of the pressure on the Argentinian week in week out.

He will add a new dimension to the attack. He thinks nothing of trying the audacious and his tenacity is infectious. This is typified by the type of goals he scored for Liverpool; whether that be while he was lying on the floor against Crystal Palace at Anfield, or planting a header into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area against West Brom.

The Uruguayan brings with his raw talent the imagination to try things of which others would not even think. This will be ideal to break down those stubborn La Liga defences such as Atletico Madrid.

Suarez will have no problem playing second fiddle to Messi, as he has already shown in stints on the wing at Liverpool that he is willing to do what is best for the team. But if Barcelona are to challenge for the title once more this year, Suarez will need to be at his best.

If he is and if manager Luis Enrique can accommodate Neymar into the team as well, La Liga is going to be a scary place for everyone other than Barcelona.