Despite the occasional injury to key players, the Catalan giants have lost only two games in all competitions this season: against Real Madrid in LaLiga and against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Barça's bravado
If nothing else, the results this season, which have seen Barça average three goals a game, are a reflection of Hansi Flick's belief in his high defensive line.
No other club in Europe are playing with such bravado from their back four.
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PSG are certainly as swashbuckling in their attacking verve, but even the Champions League holders won't push up as high as the halfway line when in possession of the ball in the opposition's half.
The one drawback to Flick's way of working is that if the Barcelona back four aren't on the same page in terms of when to step up, any attack with pace can get in behind and then take potshots at goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
That may have something to do with the imbalance in the full-back positions currently.
Though Joao Cancelo is perfectly adept at playing in the left-back position, his more natural position is on the right.
Kounde and Balde to leave?
With Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde seemingly out of the picture now at Barça, it has allowed both Xavi Espart and Brian Farinas to get some minutes in.
Whilst that will please the powers that be as the club continues to unearth gems from La Masia, if Barça want to go on and land a third successive league title and a first Champions League since 2015, then they do need more strength in depth.
Reports in Spain have linked the club with Manchester City's out-of-favour Rayan Ait-Nouri, who has only made two EFL Cup appearances, and two more in the Champions League for the club this season.
As of this moment, he still hasn't played a single minute in the 2026/27 Premier League, and were Barça to firm up their interest ahead of the January transfer window, there's a strong likelihood that the player will jump at the chance of moving to sunnier climes.
Ait-Nouri's hire could see Cancelo move to right-back
Despite a lack of minutes, Ait-Nouri has still posted some reasonable Flashscore ratings, including a 7.7 against Norwich.
His hire would allow Cancelo to move over to right-back, leaving Espart and Farinas as the back-up in both positions - a situation that may well suit all parties.
Looking at his efforts from 2025/26, what could the 25-year-old Ait-Nouri bring to the Catalans?
For any full-back at Barcelona, they need to be able to pass the ball and get forward. During the previous campaign, the Algerian had the highest percentage of passes ending in the final third in the entire City squad (90.58 per cent).
Not bad when you consider that Pep Guardiola had the likes of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and other sublime passers of the ball in situ.
In terms of passing more generally, he was still in the top five for accuracy. 991 of his 1071 total passes last season found their target, giving Ait-Nouri an outstanding 92.53 per cent success rate.
Although just seven of his 27 attempted crosses were completed, it gave him a 25.93 per cent success rate, which was only bettered by Rayan Cherki, Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland.
Barça need to move quickly
Given that the Norwegian striker only attempted three crosses in total, succeeding only once, he can be discounted from that metric, meaning Ait-Nouri can consider himself the third-best crosser of the ball in 25/26 for City.
In terms of both his ground and aerial one-on-ones, there's a positive balance, too.
Of the 233 contested on the ground, the player won 133 of them, and of the 30 contested aerially, Ait-Nouri won 16. What that shows any interested parties is that there is a player who has a great all-round presence and who will only improve in the right side.
The player's primary concern, of course, is with regard to the defence of his goal, and here too Ait-Nouri has excelled.
Just four players in the entire City squad attempted more than his 52 tackles in 25/26, and the loss of possession on a mere nine separate occasions speaks of a player who is being sidelined this season for no apparent reason.
If Barça decide that Ait-Nouri is worth the risk, despite his evident lack of games in the current campaign, they could well be landing themselves a bargain.