Barcelona can clinch La Liga title with a win and another stumble by Real Madrid

By: Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press Posted: 5:26 AM CDT Thursday, Apr. 30, 2026

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona could clinch a second straight La Liga title this weekend if it maintains its winning form and Real Madrid endures another stumble.

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona could clinch a second straight La Liga title this weekend if it maintains its winning form and Real Madrid endures another stumble.

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona could clinch a second straight La Liga title this weekend if it maintains its winning form and Real Madrid endures another stumble.

Barcelona leads Madrid by 11 points with five games left. If Barcelona wins at Osasuna on Saturday, then Madrid must also win at Espanyol on Sunday to prolong the title race for at least one more round.

If everything goes Barcelona’s way this weekend then it will host Real Madrid in a clasico in the following game as the newly crowned champion.

While Hansi Flick is on the cusp of a third major title (including the 2025 Copa del Rey) in his two years in charge of Barcelona, Madrid is facing a second straight season without a major piece of silverware.

Key matches

Barcelona is running away with the domestic title. It has won nine straight in La Liga, a domestic winning run marred only by a loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Barcelona can’t expect an easy victory in Pamplona, however.

Ninth-placed Osasuna has lost only twice at its El Sadar Stadium this season and is on a run of 10 straight home matches without defeat.

Madrid, meanwhile, has only one win its last six games across all competitions as it limps to the finish of a disappointing season in which Xabi Alonso was fired and — barring a drastic change of events — Álvaro Arbeloa will also be ousted in the offseason.

Espanyol has been in an even bigger rut than Madrid.

Espanyol was in fifth place at the start of 2026 but it has yet to win this year — an astonishing run of 16 games — and fallen into the large group of teams trying to avoid relegation.

Atletico Madrid plays at Valencia on Saturday before Diego Simeone’s team visits Arsenal next week with their Champions League semifinal poised after a 1-1 first-leg draw.

Players to watch

Barcelona 22-year-old midfielder Fermín López, who is expected to play for Spain at this summer’s World Cup, is finishing the campaign as one of its most incisive attacking players. His goal in the 2-0 win at Getafe last Saturday was No. 13 for Fermín this season to go with 16 assists.

While Madrid struggles, Vinícius Júnior is keeping up his good form with two goals in his last two league games.

Out of action

Lamine Yamal is out for the season for Barcelona with a muscle injury. Raphinha’s return from injury is unknown after he was back to practicing with the team this week. Both Barcelona stars are expected to be fit for the World Cup.

Madrid will be missing regular starters Kylian Mbappé, Éder Militão and Arda Güler at Espanyol. Mbappé has a left hamstring issue and the France striker will rest with the World Cup starting in June.

Militão has been ruled out of the World Cup for Brazil after he underwent surgery to fix a hamstring injury this week.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer