Gonzalo Higuain scored an 89th-minute goal for 10-man Madrid to rally and win 2-1 at Osasuna on Sunday and successfully defend its title, as it has an unassailable 78 points with three rounds remaining.
Villarreal is second in the standings with 68 points, followed by Barcelona with 64.
In line with tradition, Barcelona will be expected to salute Madrid as it comes onto the field - an act that will likely leave the Catalan team feeling the sting of a second straight season without a trophy.
Newspaper Marca is already anticipating the act that will be the most controversial part of an otherwise meaningless "classico."
"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 has retained the title since winning five straight between 1986-90.
Barcelona won't be lacking incentive as it still has 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 center back Gabriel Milito will undergo knee surgery next week and is expected to be out for six months.
Fourth-place Atletico Madrid has 58 points and plays at Espanyol in Thursday's only game.
Fifth-place Racing Santander (56 points) hosts No. 6 Sevilla (55) on Wednesday with both teams needing to win to keep pace with Atletico for the final Champions League qualifying place.
Villarreal meets No. 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, No. 15 Valencia (42) plays No. 16 Zaragoza (41), which hasn'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, plays at surging Mallorca.
Valladolid (42) travels to Real Betis (45), while Getafe (42) will need to shake off a slump in form since its UEFA Cup exit to Bayern Munich last month when it hosts No. 9 Almeria.
Also Wednesday, Deportivo La Coruna plays Levante and Murcia hosts Athletic Bilbao
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