Barcelona followed up Saturday's win over Real Madrid with another victory when Alexis Sanchez set the champions on their way to a 3-0 success at Celta Vigo on Tuesday that put them four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
Another win would confirm that Barca are heading in the right direction after pushing the reset button following the loss of Lionel Messi in the close season due to their financial problems.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique believes his team deserves to win "the best league in Europe" as they aim to clinch La Liga in a potentially thrilling climax to the Spanish season on Saturday.
Stuttering Spanish champions Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga but were well short of their scintillating best in a laboured 2-0 victory at lowly city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Barcelona's Xavi crashed a shot into the top corner three minutes from the end and Lionel Messi forced a stoppage-time own goal as the hosts overcame stubborn Granada 2-0 to maintain their perfect La Liga start on Saturday.
Jaume Costa atoned for giving away a first-half penalty when his strike five minutes from time rescued Villarreal a 1-1 draw against Eibar that put them fourth in La Liga on Sunday.
Real Madrid are comfortably perched on top of the La Liga standings with 66 points while Barca are now third on 54 points with a game in hand, three points behind second-placed Sevilla.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said on Friday he trusted his team to handle the occasion of this weekend's season finale at lowly Granada, where a win would guarantee their 24th La Liga title.
Barcelona's bid for a fifth La Liga title in six years suffered a surprise setback when the champions crashed to a 1-0 defeat at lowly Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own goal last week at Sevilla by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Barcelona signing Robert Lewandowski is relishing a new challenge after joining the Catalan club and the 33-year-old said he was ready to play in their upcoming pre-season game against rivals Real Madrid in the United States.
The Italian said he would avoid big changes to his team this time, after he tested midfielder Luka Modric up front in place of then-injured striker Karim Benzema in the last El Clasico in March, only to get hammered 4-0 by the Catalans.
Saudi clubs have spent more than 400 million euros ($439 million) in the close season to sign players from Europe's elite teams.
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Seydou Keita scored a stoppage-time equaliser as 10-man Barcelona drew 2-2 at Real Betis to wrap up Pep Guardiola's last La Liga campaign as coach of the club on Saturday.
Real, who have smashed the La Liga scoring record, clinched their 32nd league crown and their first in four years when Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo struck in a frenetic 3-0 win at 10-man Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
Premier League clubs spend $1 billion for first time in January transfer window
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Atletico Madrid's La Liga title challenge took a nosedive when they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday, leaving Real Madrid three points clear at the top.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Valencia lost ground in the battle with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla for third place in La Liga when they conceded a late Aritz Aduriz equaliser in a bad-tempered 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Barcelona moved ever closer towards a successful defence of their La Liga title after nearest challengers Atletico Madrid suffered a shock late collapse at struggling Sporting Gijon to lose 2-1 on Saturday.
Arsenal sailed through the Europa League group stages, winning five of their six group matches and take on Sporting next, who overcame Denmark's FC Midtjylland in their playoff.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
Leaders Barcelona played out a second straight 0-0 draw in LaLiga after mid-table Getafe battled for a home point in a hard-fought game on Sunday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi hit his 400th career goal for the La Liga leaders.
Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has signed a formal letter stating his wish to play for adopted country Spain, ending a tug-of-war between the two powerhouses over the in-form 25-year-old.
A towering Diego Godin header secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Barcelona and a first La Liga title for 18 years in a thrilling climax to the campaign on Saturday.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
India are struggling to find a batter for the No. 4 slot, something that has also troubled them in the previous edition in 2019 in England.
Villarreal tightened their grip on fourth place in La Liga when Nigerian forward Ikechukwu Uche's last-gasp strike snatched a 1-0 win at fellow promoted side Elche on Monday.
English Premier League leaders Manchester City and Chelsea slugged out a magnificent 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Los Angeles Galaxy won their opening SuperLiga match 2-1 against Mexican side Pachuca on Tuesday despite missing the injured David Beckham.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.
Key head-to-head battles in Saturday's "Clasico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu stadium (1600 GMT)
Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
Villarreal continued their impressive revival after a season in the second division when Jeremy Perbet and Jonathan Pereira struck in a 2-1 win at home to Espanyol in La Liga on Thursday.
Lionel Messi scored twice as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a persistent Valencia side, who had Eliaquim Mangala sent off in the first half, to win 4-2 on Sunday and stay on the heels of leaders Real Madrid.
"Everything will not be complete if we don't win the Champions League now. We have done some incredible seasons."
Real Madrid's teenage Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes sent them top of La Liga as both scored in a 2-0 win over Osasuna on Wednesday.
Dani Alves, who has denied any wrongdoing, was taken to the Brians 1 jail outside Barcelona.
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