MADRID (AP) - With the Champions League and Copa de Rey still to come, Barcelona can wrap up the Spanish league title on Sunday.
The league leaders will play at Atletico Madrid this weekend after Spain’s National Court suspended a planned strike.
Last year, Atletico won the title by earning a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou in a winner-take-all match on the final weekend of the season. Barcelona can now take the title back at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
If Barcelona fails to win, it will have a second and last chance on the season’s final day against Deportivo La Coruna.
Here are some things to know about this weekend’s matches:
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HUMBLED MADRID
Real Madrid is facing a season without a major trophy after Juventus ended its quest to defend its Champions League title on Wednesday.
Juventus rallied for a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to go through on aggregate and meet Barcelona in the final.
Madrid started the season well, winning the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup while finishing 2014 with a Spanish record 22-match winning streak. But last week’s 2-2 draw at home against fourth-place Valencia left the team four points behind Barcelona.
Madrid will visit Espanyol needing to win while hoping for back-to-back stumbles by Barcelona to salvage the season.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will not be on the bench after being suspended for two games for his supposedly ironic applause of the referee’s performance last week.
“I don’t have to talk to the club at the end of the season, I want to stay,” Ancelotti said after the loss to Juventus. “But the club has the right to take decisions and change coaches if they are not satisfied with me. That’s the rule in football.”
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TREBLE IN SIGHT
Barcelona would love to wrap up the title at third-place Atletico to avoid any late jitters.
That would also put coach Luis Enrique on course to match Pep Guardiola’s outstanding first season at Barcelona, when he led the Catalan club to the league, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles.
Barcelona beat Guardiola’s Bayern Munich 5-3 on aggregate in the other Champions League semifinal match, despite losing 3-2 in Germany on Tuesday.
Barcelona is set to play Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final on May 30. It will then face Juventus in Berlin on June 6 for the European Cup.
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CHAMPIONS FIGHT
Valencia and Sevilla have been vying all season to secure a fourth-place finish and Spain’s final Champions League berth.
Valencia has a three-point advantage over Sevilla, which could also earn a spot in Europe’s top-tier competition by repeating as Europa League champion.
Valencia hosts Celta Vigo, while Sevilla gets relegation-threatened Almeria on Sunday.
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