Messi, Suarez & Neymar or Messi, Henry & Eto'o - which is the greater Barcelona attack?

With Luis Enrique's fearsome trio having surpassed the goal record set by Pep Guardiola's stars so two Goal writers go head to head over the iconic forward lines.

As Barcelona prepare to welcome back Pep Guardiola to Camp Nou on Wednesday, there can be no doubt they are playing their finest football since their old coach's departure in 2012.

The Catalans are on the brink of the Liga title after their win over Real Sociedad was followed by second-placed Real Madrid drawing 2-2 with Valencia. They have reached the Copa del Rey final where they face Athletic Bilbao at the end of May. And they are clear favourites to overcome Guardiola's Bayern Munich in the Champions League last four after a thumping 3-0 win in the first leg.

Barca are essentially two wins and a draw away from the treble as anything but a crushing defeat at Bayern will see them in the Champions League final. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have now reached a total of 112 goals in all competitions in 2014-15, a dozen more than the tally reached by Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o in 2009 - the last time Barca won league, cup and Champions League in one campaign.

So which forward line is best: the MSN, or MHE? Two Goal writers go head to head to settle the debate.

It is often easy to live in the moment in football. It is easy to believe that what is happening right now is the best thing ever, much better than that other thing that happened in the past. At the moment, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi are in enthralling form. But have we already forgotten that Barcelona team of 2008-09?

The scoring feats of Suarez and Neymar alongside Messi are to be admired. But neither player has yet to come close to reaching the level of either Thierry Henry or Samuel Eto'o at their peak. Their current success comes at a time when, realistically, only two teams (Real Madrid and Bayern) can compete with Barca. In 2008, teams thought they could best Pep Guardiola's side (in La Liga in particular) and were hugely difficult to break down. Now, opposition coaches strike the fixture off the calendar and it taints MSN's achievements ever so slightly.

When Guardiola took over he inherited a club in total transition and had to instil a philosophy as well as make Barca a formidable opponent once again. Henry had also just endured a below-par first season at Camp Nou while incoming Pep was desperate to offload problem player Eto'o. It's testament to the professionalism and adaptability of the front three that, from such inauspicious beginnings, a legendary triumvirate was born.

Henry had to become a different player, not the free-scoring striker of Arsenal but a tactically-disciplined all-round forward. Eto'o, meanwhile, had to prove himself as a tremendously selfless team player as well as a devastating finisher. Messi – well, here we witnessed the embryonic stages of the fully-formed genius that we see now.

This was a trio that all had to adapt to work together and do so from a position of inferiority. Being inferior is something that the Barca of MSN will never need to worry about. In many ways their brilliance helped to create this Barca, the Barca that people now assume always existed.

It hasn't. Their 100 goals laid the foundation of a treble that will still be revered in 50 years' time. Individually, three of the greatest players of the modern era. Together – simply unstoppable.

In a turbulent last 18 months for Barcelona, nobody has dominated the headlines quite as much as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Suarez, Liverpool's recalcitrant genius of last season, forced through a mega-money move but could not even play for Barca until October after the third biting offence of his career. Neymar had struggled for consistency last term but the muddied waters of his own transfer forced the president to resign and still have the club caught up in a legal wrangle. As for Messi, La Masia's greatest achievement had the whole world speculating on an exit from Camp Nou after a falling-out with Luis Enrique. And all this came after a year of winning nothing.

Now, Barca stand on the brink of the treble, after a string of performances which rival the very best Pep Guardiola could conjur. And their fearsome front three inspired it all.

They have scored 112 goals in all competitions. They have created another 51. Real Madrid's BBC - the trident which fired them to La Decima and the Copa del Rey last term - do not currently come close.

That all three have been forced to adapt their own styles this season makes the stats all the more remarkable. Suarez is now the focal point of a front three, unable to drift into wide areas as he did so supremely for Liverpool. Neymar has had to better his end product whilst learning the value of the high press. Messi has been redeployed in the wide-right position Gerardo Martino experimented with - a role once met with scorn from fans and the player himself. Not so this season.

The understanding flourishing between the trio is remarkable. Indeed, it seems to get better with each passing game. Bayern Munich stopped Suarez but were left humbled by Messi; David Moyes' Real Sociedad stifled the Argentine but Neymar came up with the goods. Such is the dominance of Barcelona's current form - and the confidence of their strikers - that goals are now expected to come at a rate not seen since Pep's golden era. The 13-minute dismantling of Bayern after a tough and tense encounter was the zenith of this style and belief.

They have now surpassed the goal tally set by Messi-Eto'o-Henry in 2009, and will add more before the season is out. They've managed this at the spearhead of a very different side. Xavi is now reduced to a supporting role, Andres Iniesta is short of his World Cup-winning best, and there is no Victor Valdes or Carles Puyol to turn to for ferocious inspiration. The whole team now looks to the front three for that.

Messi, Suarez and Neymar look, at present, unstoppable. At just 27, 28 and 23 respectively, some mighty records - not to mention silverware - could be theirs for the taking in the coming years. Camp Nou has rarely enjoyed troublemakers quite so much.