Madrid will celebrate a record 31st Spanish league title in front of their home fans at Santiago Bernabeu stadium tomorrow when they host long-time rival FC Barcelona.
Gonzalo Higuain scored an 89th-minute goal for 10-man Madrid to rally and win 2-1 at Osasuna on Sunday and successfully defend their title, as they have an unassailable 78 points with three rounds remaining.
Villarreal are second in the standings with 68 points, followed by Barcelona with 64.
In line with tradition, Barcelona will be expected to salute Madrid as they come onto the field - an act that will likely leave the Catalan team feeling the sting of a second straight season without a trophy.
Lacking incentive
"We are going to enjoy the moment, celebrate with our fans back in Madrid and have a great time when we play Barcelona at the Bernabeu,'' said coach Bernd Schuster, who was hired when Fabio Capello was let go and became coach of England.
It is the first time Madrid have retained the title since winning five straight between 1986-90.
Barcelona won't be lacking incentive as they still have a chance of catching Villarreal for second place to avoid playing a qualifying stage in the Champions League. But it will be without the suspended Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o and Portugal midfielder Deco, while centre back Gabriel Milito will undergo knee surgery next week and is expected to be out for six months.
Fourth-place Atlético Madrid have 58 points and play at Espanyol in Thursday's only game.
Fifth-place Racing Santander (56 points) host number six Sevilla (55) tomorrow with both teams needing to win to keep pace with Atletico for the final Champions League qualifying place.
Villarreal meet number 17 Recreativo Huelva (41), one of six teams separated by two points and fighting to avoid a drop to the second division alongside Murcia and Levante.
After a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Barcelona, number 15 Valencia (42) play number 16 Zaragoza (41), which haven't won at Mestalla stadium since the 1992-93 season. Former Valencia captain David Albelda returned to the team for the first time since then-coach Ronald Koeman expelled him from the team.
Osasuna (40), which stayed in the final drop place after losing to Madrid, play at surging Mallorca.
Valladolid (42) travel to Real Betis (45), while Getafe (42) will need to shake off a slump in form since their UEFA Cup exit to Bayern Munich last month when they host No. 9 Almeria.
Also, tomorrow, Deportivo La Coruña play Levante, and Murcia host Atlético Bilbao.
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