The 2015/2016 La Liga champion will be officially revealed on Saturday evening as both Barcelona and Real Madrid need to dispatch Granada and Deportivo La Coruna respectively to keep their title hopes alive.
After 37 matches and 10 months of competition, La Liga is the lone top European league yet to crown a champion.
While Atletico Madrid are not in contention anymore following their loss at Levante, their chances of finishing second are intact.
Such a breathtaking sprint for the trophy seemed highly unlikely in March before the international break which preceded El Clasico.
When Barcelona started their 30th match, at Villarreal, they enjoyed a comfortable eight-point cushion over Atletico and a 12-point margin over Madrid.
Barcelona
BarcelonaLast fixture sees two-horse race between Spanish giants
Barcelona and Real Madrid’s final push for La Liga glory
Updated 14/05/2016 10:57 CET
J. L. Calderon and Sergi Font
Adapted by Pablo Mosquera
@burraparda
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The 2015/2016 La Liga champion will be officially revealed on Saturday evening as both Barcelona and Real Madrid need to dispatch Granada and Deportivo La Coruna respectively to keep their title hopes alive.
After 37 matches and 10 months of competition, La Liga is the lone top European league yet to crown a champion.
While Atletico Madrid are not in contention anymore following their loss at Levante, their chances of finishing second are intact.
Such a breathtaking sprint for the trophy seemed highly unlikely in March before the international break which preceded El Clasico.
When Barcelona started their 30th match, at Villarreal, they enjoyed a comfortable eight-point cushion over Atletico and a 12-point margin over Madrid.
A nightmarish four-game stretch for the Catalans, during which they added just a point to their tally, allowed their rivals to jump right back into the race.
Madrid have found their form at the right time as they look to win 12 matches in a row – a feat achieved by no team prior to this season.
Should Los Blancos fail to complete the comeback, they’ll regret dropped points midway through the campaign.
Madrid travelled on Friday to A Coruna with all their players, for one last push in order to obtain the most unexpected league title in the club’s 114 years of existence.
Barcelona are confident in their own chances knowing they control the fate of the trophy.
Luis Enrique has forbidden radios on the bench so that his players solely focus on winning the encounter at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.
Both the coach and Gerard Pique admitted they would internally celebrate the potential title despite still having to play the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla.
Nevertheless, an official celebration with the Barcelona fans has been postponed for security reasons.
Enrique will stick with his first choice XI plus Marc Andre ter Stegen as goalkeeper in the continued absence, through injury, of Claudio Bravo.
Lionel Messi will try to equal Xavi in La Liga titles won; Luis Suarez aims to certify his status as the competitions top scorer and Neymar intends to end the season of a high note after a loss of form over the last month or so.
Having avoided relegation last weekend, Granada have little to play for but pride in front of their home crowd.
