ANALYSIS: The three South American forwards are just two goals from the 99 netted by the Argentine, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o in Pep Guardiola's first season in charge.
Ninety-seven and counting. Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are closing in on 100 goals for Barcelona in 2014-15 and are just two off the number netted by the club's fantastic forward line under Pep Guardiola in 2008-09, when the Argentine attacker played alongside Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o.
Messi started that season on the right and scored 38 goals in 51 appearances, with Eto'o on target 36 times in 52 games and Henry not too far behind with 26 in his 42 matches for the Catalan club en route to a treble of Liga, Copa and Champions League titles.
And even though the Argentine netted 73 times in 60 appearances in Guardiola's final season (2011-12) to score a total of 103 goals with Alexis Sanchez (15 in 41) and Cesc Fabregas (15 in 48), the front three in that campaign was constantly chopped and changed (Pedro also netted 13 in 48) but remained largely reliant upon Messi's magic.
In terms of a fully functional first-choice front line, however, the two best for Barca in recent seasons are the Messi-Eto'o-Henry trident in 2008-09 (with 99) and the Argentine's association with David Villa and Pedro in 2010-11, which yielded 98 strikes (53 for Messi, 23 for the former Spain striker and 22 for the current Barca winger).
Interestingly, those two teams both won the Champions League - proof perhaps that a balanced front line can help when it comes to breaking down other members of Europe's elite. That, of course, makes sense and bodes well for the hopes of Luis Enrique's side in 2014-15.
This term, Messi has 47 in 48 appearances, Neymar 31 in 42 and Suarez (who sat out the first two months after being banned for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup) is on 19 from his 36 games.
"Messi, Suarez and Neymar are doing great - just as they have been all season," Luis Enrique said on Monday. "They are scoring goals, they give assists and they also help out in defence. I am very happy with them."
Help in defence has been invaluable at times, but the South American forwards will be judged on goals and one more will see the trio draw level with the Messi, Villa, Pedro trident from 2010-11 and another two will equal the Messi, Eto'o, Henry attack from 2008-09. And it is merely a matter of time as Barca still have five league games remaining, at least two and possibly three Champions League clashes, plus the final of the Copa del Rey at the end of May.
The 99 goals in 2008-09 arrived in a combined 145 appearances for Messi, Eto'o and Henry, while Messi, Villa and Pedro needed a total of 160 games to reach 98 in 2010-11. By comparison, the Argentine, Neymar and Suarez have racked up 97 so far this term in 126 matches combined - a far superior strike-rate to either of the previous two.
The total is also better than the 89 managed so far by Real Madrid's BBC trio in 2014-15, with Cristiano Ronaldo slightly ahead of Messi on 50 goals (from 47 games) but Karim Benzema (22 from 44) and Gareth Bale (17 from 43) lagging behind both Neymar and Suarez. The France forward and the Welsh winger are also currently injured.
Incidentally, Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema hit 97 in all competitions in 2013-14 (in a combined 143 games) as Madrid claimed the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, so one more goal from Barca's trio this term will also see them overtake that mark.
"I have never seen a relationship like the one between Suarez, Neymar and Messi," defender Gerard Pique said earlier this month. "We are talking about three of the best players in the world. When you're a footballer people always think you are selfish, but these three have a perfect relationship and they understand each other really well. There is no jealousy between them and I think that is clear on the pitch."
At home to 13th-placed Getafe in La Liga on Tuesday, the trio have several new milestones in their sights. One goal will see Messi, Neymar and Suarez overhaul the best total set by Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo, while two will move them ahead of the Messi, Villa and Pedro strikeforce from 2010-11, while three will take them to a century for the Catalan club in a single season and also eclipse the number set by Messi, Eto'o and Henry in 2008-09.
Still on course for La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, only time will tell if Barca can match their treble-winning season of 2008-09, but stats show their formidable forward line is already superior to the trident formed by Messi, Henry and Eto'o that year. And they're not finished yet.
