FC Barcelona: 10 Reasons the Blaugrana Appear to Be More Beatable This Season

Barcelona is still the best team in the world, but they have looked a bit more vulnerable so far this season.

It may just be that a slow start will lead to an utterly devastating finish, especially where the league is concerned. Or it may just be that teams are starting to blare Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and follow through on the pitch.

That being said, there are a variety of reasons why, right now, the Blaugrana do not seem as invincible as before. Most of the problems have arisen on the domestic stage and may well end up with Real Madrid throwing another trophy under the bus at season's end.

There is no doubting this team's talent, and—as ridiculous as this sounds—their "struggles" may just be a magnificent ploy by the team to lull everybody back to sleep and then pounce. The upcoming "Clasico" would a perfect time to re-assert control over the masses. OK, that is pretty ridiculous.

No one knows how this season will end. But unless you are a hardcore Real Madrid fan, you surely wouldn't bet against Barcelona in any game.

In any case, here are 10 reasons the Blaugrana appear to be more beatable this season.

Players Look Bored Against Some Lesser Opponents

Maybe bored is not the right word. Maybe it is. So far this season, this team has produced some interesting results.

Starting from the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona has been a mixed bag. Everybody who followed the two teams in preseason could see that Real Madrid was the fitter of the two sides; yet Barcelona came out on top over the two legs.

They were not willing to relinquish control of the throne, but it also would have been unusual to see this team of winners lie down against their eternal rivals. Just as they did with that game, Barcelona has showed a willingness to produce its best against the best, but they seemingly cannot be bothered with the lower opposition.

So far this season, Barcelona has dismantled some of the bigger teams in Spain. Think Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. Other top sides like Valencia, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao stepped up their games to match the Catalans, although Sevilla was especially fortunate to escape with a draw.

In contrast, games against teams like Real Sociedad, Sporting Gijon and, most surprisingly Granada CF, showed that the Barcelona squad as a whole was probably not as into the game as usual.

They still went on dominate other teams in that category, like Osasuna and Mallorca among others, but that is because they are the best in the world.

Even in the Champions League, they faced minnows like BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen and handled them with the usual superiority. But in Spain they seem to care less.

If they want to avoid another Getafe incident, they will have to make sure that they come out all guns blazing all the time.

More Injuries

Pedro, Ibrahim Afellay, Cesc Fabregas, Adriano, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Alexis Sanchez, Andres Iniesta. All these players have had injuries at some point so far this campaign.

In some cases, there were injuries carried over from the previous season; while others have received theirs at some point since the beginning of this season.

It's safe to say that Barcelona never had this sort of trouble in the past few seasons. Sure, there has been the one major injury and maybe one or two minor ones. But above is a list of eight important players who have missed some part of the season so far.

Missing that many players would do damage to any team, even Barcelona. Right now, all these players—minus Afellay—are basically fully fit so the real Barcelona may return soon.

No New Tactical Innovation

These new innovations did not occur every year.

First there was the possession and the pressing that took teams by storm in the 2008/09 season. Next was the move to switch Lionel Messi in the "false 9" role towards the end of the 2009/2010 season. That is basically it.

Of course, there are the finer, more minute details; but those two things had a major impact on how Barcelona came to be so effective.

This year, one could say that Barcelona has tried to implement a three-man defense. The key word there is tried. But who is to say that Pep Guardiola really wanted to do that?

The aforementioned injuries could have forced his hand to such an extent that—instead of trusting the likes of Marc Bartra and Andreu Fontas—he went with three at the back.

While the possession, pressing and playing Messi in the middle are now synonymous with the club, the three-man defense seems more of an experiment. It is one that should not be continued, by the way.

Barcelona's best defense is its possession, but even with the traditional four defenders there are some very scary moments at the back. Three defenders may have worked against Milan recently, but the risk of letting in goals increases just about every time Barcelona has lined up like that this season.

Away Record in the League Is Significantly Worse so Far Statistically

When all was said and done last season, it did not matter where Barcelona played in the league because the result was usually in their favor. The team was almost just as good in away games as it was at home.

Statistically, Barcelona gained 46 away points; their away record stood at 14 wins, four draws and one loss; they scored 49 goals and conceded 11; the team had a goal for an average of 2.58 and a goals-against average of 0.58 and a point-per-game average of 2.42.

At home, they gained 50 points and even scored three fewer goals. If you take a look at the current time period, August through to November, Barcelona was infinitely better last season.

In 13 games the team had 34 points with 18 of those coming in away games. So far this season, Barcelona has played one more game in that time period and will end up with 15 after Saturday's game against Valencia. The team currently has nine points from six away games.

At this point last season, Barcelona won all of its six away games and during that time scored 21 goals and conceded three. This season the record stands at two wins, three draws and one loss and the team has scored eight and conceded seven.

While there is still a good amount of the season to go, it is quite possible that Barcelona will not reach the same level of statistical output in away games in the league.

Teams are taking more pride in their home performances against the Blaugrana, and that may hurt in the long run.

Missing Carles Puyol

This article says it all. Carles Puyol is Mr. Barcelona.

The players beside him, in front of him and that guy behind him play that much better when he is on the field. It helps when he is at fittest, too.

Puyol leads by example and gives his teammates that drive and energy whenever he is available to play. Age seems to have caught up with the swashbuckling defender, but he is an extremely important piece of the Barcelona machine.

Any team would miss a defender of Puyol's caliber. With the focus on attacking and controlling the game and Dani Alves basically playing right wing, Puyol has been the savior for Barcelona many times before.

One could say that even with a three-man defense there is less to worry about if Puyol is back there. Until he retires and/or the team finds a very capable replacement, Puyol is a necessity for Barcelona.

Teams Are More Prepared

Teams may have finally gotten used to the Barcelona act and they are hitting back hard. Athletic Bilbao and Valencia gave the Blaugrana some good scares when they met.

In those cases, it wasn't so much that Barcelona was bored but that they met a team with a well-thought plan. With the other teams that Barcelona has struggled against, it may be a mixture of the tactics and Barcelona's own mentality.

The target on this teams back has gotten bigger by the year. Pulling of a victory like Getafe did can lead to a story for the grandchildren later in life. Barcelona may be used to teams stacking the defense, but sometimes that little tweak in tactics can make it that much harder for them to get through.

Either way, Barcelona has found it a little harder each year to get through opponents and this year is no different.

Increased Selfishness from Lionel Messi

Yes, I said it. Lionel Messi can be selfish. It shows a little on the pitch sometimes when the simple pass to a teammate is on, as opposed to trying to dribble through three opposing players.

Never mind his statistical output in terms of assists. He is the best player for a reason and would obviously know when a pass to a teammate is better, but sometimes it doesn't happen.

However, this selfishness is about him wanting to play every game. Yes, you are the best player in the world and as much as you don't want to mention it, continually putting Cristiano Ronaldo and his fans in their place probably puts a little smile on your face. But you are part of a team. Other players can play, too. Taking a rest every now and then is not the worst thing in the world. Pep Guardiola has to take a little blame here, too, as he seems to not want to risk the annoyance of his top player.

There have been times where Messi's sluggishness in a game is very obvious, even amongst his sometimes just as sluggish teammates. It could be seen as a testament to his stamina, but he and the team risk an unfortunate incident if this carries on.

His constant muscular problems may be behind him but it only takes one second for all that to change. Hopefully, something like that does not happen.

Would it have been different if Messi came of the bench against Getafe? Maybe, maybe not. Yes, he hit the post in the dying moments, but he could have very well been Barcelona's savior were he 45 minutes or more fresher.

If he continues to play every minute of every game, it will neither do him nor the team any good.

Real Madrid

This season, Real Madrid has closed the gap between themselves and Barcelona. Opponents will always fear playing against these two, but Real Madrid has an ominous feel about them at the moment.

While Barcelona has struggled a little to start the La Liga campaign, Real Madrid has bounced back from a shocking defeat to Levante.

With Jose Mourinho pulling the strings in the media and on the training ground, Madrid has been a very dominant force in many of its games.

Barcelona has five ties and one loss in all competitions, but Real Madrid has not been so forgiving and only have one loss and one tie.

Those results exclude the Spanish Super Cup. When those teams met, Barcelona still had the upper-hand mentally, even if they were not at the same level physically.

The next time these teams meet in about 10 days, it will be interesting to see if the power really has shifted back to Madrid.

Inconsistent Lineup Means Lack of Cohesion

Due to all the injuries that Barcelona has had, it is not unusual that the lineup has basically differed in almost every game so far this season.

Isaac Cuenca is the only notable "new face" having been promoted from the B team, but Pep Guardiola has had to use every player available in his first team.

In past seasons, Barcelona has been able to call upon virtually the same first 11 in every game. A few changes would be made every now and then, but the main players were almost always available.

The lack of consistency in the team sheet has obviously had an effect on how well the team has performed in some games.

Any team would miss having a big number of their main players out for some period of time and having to change the names on the team sheet from game to game makes cohesion a more difficult prospect, even for Barcelona.

Xavi will miss Andres Iniesta when he was gone; Lionel Messi may have missed Pedro during his spell on the treatment table; and Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol have rarely been on the pitch at the same time.

The team is basically back to full strength now, and with that we will probably begin to see a more regular lineup and more cohesion.

Team Fitness Is Not as It Was in Previous Season

Fitness and injuries are almost one and the same. If you are not as fit as possible, you are more likely to get injured. If you get injured, you lose some fitness.

Some of Barcelona's South American stars had a very long season, because they participated in this summer's Copa America. Add that to the ongoing international commitments, and it may still be having an effect on them. Alexis Sanchez's injury problems could be attributed to this.

The other internationals, especially the Spanish ones, have also traveled extensively due to their international commitments. That being said, Barcelona still look like a team with less energy than usual.

It was evident in the preseason against teams like Chivas Guadalaraja and even before the Spanish Super Cup, Pep Guardiola stated that the team was not at the level they should be.

It is possible some players are still trying to catch up and when the new year comes Barcelona will be fully fit and raring to go. For right now, though, Barcelona has produced some sluggish performances that are uncharacteristic of them. A good part of that is down to fitness.