Real Madrid have proven themselves to be the best side in La Liga this season, sitting comfortably at the head of the table and charging towards a 36th top-flight title.
Los Blancos actually finished 10 points behind champions Barcelona last term, losing eight times in the process, but they have suffered just one defeat thus far this season.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have won 26, drawn six and lost one of their 33 matches to collect 84 points, scoring 71 goals and conceding just 22 times, and they boast an 11-point advantage over second-placed Barcelona with five games left, so the title is seemingly heading back to Madrid.
Mathematically, Real Madrid can win the title this weekend, and that will occur if the leaders beat Cadiz on Saturday afternoon and then second-placed Barcelona fail to win against third-placed Girona.
In that scenario, Los Blancos would have 87 points from 34 matches, while Barcelona would have either 73 or 74, with only 12 points left to play for.
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Real Madrid can be crowned La Liga champions this weekend
Real Madrid have only actually won the La Liga title twice since 2017, triumphing in 2019-20 and 2021-22, and as mentioned, they had to watch Barcelona win it last term.
Ancelotti's side are closing in another championship, though, and they are also chasing success in the Champions League, bidding to navigate their way past Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
Real Madrid are on a six-game winning run in La Liga, including a 1-0 success over Real Sociedad last time out, while they beat Barcelona 3-2 in El Clasico towards the end of April.
The team's defensive record is even more impressive considering that their number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been out since August, while their two starting centre-backs Eder Militao and David Alaba have been absent for long periods due to serious knee injuries.
Real Madrid have also scored 71 league goals this season in the absence of Karim Benzema, who surprisingly left the club last summer to make the move to Saudi Arabia.
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How could Real Madrid lose the title?
Barcelona can reach 88 points with five wins from their final five league games of the season, while Girona in third could reach 86 points with maximum points from their five matches.
As a result, Real Madrid only need four more points to win the title, and that scenario would also rely on the two teams below them being perfect, and the fact that they lock horns this weekend means that one team would be out of the race if Real Madrid drop points against Cadiz and it remains open.
Real Madrid's superior head-to-head record over both Barcelona and Girona means that they would also win the title if the teams finished level on points, giving them even greater protection heading into the final straight.
Only an extraordinary turn of events would prevent Los Blancos from lifting the title, but it is not impossible.
Matt Law
