La Liga Enters Tense Climax With Barcelona, Real Madrid Separated By a Point
La Liga Enters Tense Climax With Barcelona, Real Madrid Separated By a Point
Barcelona can retain their title, making it eight in 12 years and 24 in the club's history, with a victory at Granada, while Real Madrid visit Deportivo hoping to culminate a spectacular comeback.

Barcelona: With the title still up for grabs, Barcelona and Real Madrid have one game to play on Saturday with only one point separating them.

Barcelona can retain their title, making it eight in 12 years and 24 in the club's history, with a victory at Granada. At the same time, Madrid visit Deportivo La Coruna hoping to culminate a spectacular comeback and get a huge boost of confidence for their Champions League final against Atletico Madrid on May 28.

Barcelona hold a one-point advantage and the tiebreaker over Madrid, so the team coached by Zinedine Zidane needs to beat Deportivo and hope Barcelona drop points to add to their record 32 titles.

Zidane has asked his players to concentrate on their match, and said he would not follow the score from Barcelona's game from the dugout while his team plays.

"I'm not going to find out what has happened (with Barcelona's match) until the end," Zidane said on Friday. "We don't depend on ourselves, but we have to think only about our match and how we can win and get the three points. Then we will see.

"We have faith. We have won 11 games (in a row) and we are within one point with one match to go. We have to believe until the very last second."

Here are some more things to know about Saturday's decisive matches:

THE ZIDANE EFFECT

Zidane made his debut as a top coach against Deportivo in January, when his new team thrilled the Santiago Bernabeu with a decisive 5-0 win that their fans hoped was a sign of bigger things to come.

Since replacing the fired Rafa Benitez, Zidane has guided the team to the Champions League final and a strong record of 16 wins, two draws and one loss in the Spanish league.

I am happy, not only (for) my work but that of all my players. But I haven't won anything yet. We will see after the season is over. We have two very important finals to play, Zidane said.

LUIS'S LEGACY

Last season, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique matched Pep Guardiola's treble of Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles.

And his team was on course to repeat that feat until it fell to Atletico in the Champions League quarter-finals. That coincided with a three-game losing run in the Spanish league which let Madrid surge back into contention.

Now, Barcelona's season, regardless of the outcome of the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla on May 22, rests on whether they can handle the pressure at Granada.

TOP GUNS

Barcelona and Madrid claim six of the top seven goal-scorers in the competition, and the title could depend on which trio has its day.

Barcelona's Luis Suarez leads the league with 37 goals. The Uruguay striker is supported by Lionel Messi with 26 goals and Neymar with 24.

Cristiano Ronaldo tops Madrid's scorers with 33 goals in the league. Karim Benzema has added 24, with Gareth Bale contributing 19.

Bale returned to practice after missing last weekend's match with a leg injury. Zidane said that Ronaldo and Benzema were completely recovered from their nagging leg injuries as well.

THE OPPONENTS

Both Granada and Deportivo are safe from the relegation fight and without options of earning a berth in European competition next season.

THE PRECEDENTS

If history matters, it's on Barcelona's side.

This will be the eighth time the two powerhouses have both arrived to the final round with options to win the title. Barcelona came out on top in six of the previous seven occasions.

The Catalan club edged Madrid in the inaugural 1929 league and did so again in 1960.

It got much worse for Madrid during back-to-back debacles in 1992 and 1993, when it lost an advantage to Barcelona in the final round with losses at Tenerife.

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