Barcelona will open their La Liga campaign with a home game against Rayo Vallecano this weekend.

Barcelona have really strengthened their squad ahead of the new season, and Rayo Vallecano’s defender Ivan Balliu has admitted that the current Barcelona team is scary.

The La Masia graduate said: “This Barcelona are a bit scary. It’s clear that winning at Camp Nou this year is going to be very difficult.

“For me, they are clear candidates to win La Liga and maybe the Champions League.”

Barca face Rayo Vallecano in the league opener this Saturday, and this will be the first real test for Xavi’s team who have strolled through pre-season friendly games.

Barcelona went unbeaten in all their pre-season games, and also defeated Real Madrid, and Xavi has said he has a good feeling for the new season.

“The team is very good, we have a very good feeling from the training sessions,” Xavi said.

“Everyone is training very well, with intensity, with good rhythm. The [pre-season] tour was very positive. We’ve trained this week, in the heat, but it’s what we have to do.

“We have generated a lot of enthusiasm, I saw it yesterday at Robert’s presentation. We also have a lot of enthusiasm.

“The objective this year is to win titles and play good football. We want to make the people happy, they deserve it.”