Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says he still believes his team can win the Liga title, as they go into the final day needing to win at Deportivo La Coruna and hope leaders Barcelona slip up at Granada.
Madrid looked to have no chance through the spring as Barca built a big lead in the table, but a 2-1 victory at the Camp Nou in early April led to a slip in form for the Blaugrana outfit, while Los Blancos were embarking on an 11-game winning streak.
Barca have returned to form in time to take a one-point lead into the 38th round of games, while Madrid have divided their focus as they qualified for this season's Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.
The Blancos coach told his pregame news conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Riazor that he and his team would not now be distracted by any thoughts of the Champions League decider in Milan on May 28 and would give everything until the last second to try and win the Spanish title.
"We do still have faith," Zidane said. "Why not? We have won 11 straight games and we are just one point behind. We will believe in our chances until the final second. This is the game of our lives tomorrow, as we are playing for something very important. Then after this game we will have another to prepare for and win."
Zidane is expected to name a strong XI for the game, with Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Keylor Navas returning from minor injury problems which saw them miss last week's 3-2 home win over Valencia, although winger Lucas Vazquez is now sidelined with a knee strain.
Meanwhile, Depor finally achieved safety from relegation by winning 2-0 at Villarreal last week, however their form has been poor through the second half of the season amid widespread reports of internal disputes.
"We must start the game strongly," Zidane said. "It will be difficult as it is away from home. Depor are a good team, they know how to play football and their fans will want to end the season the best way possible. We must focus on what we have to do ourselves, from the first minute."
The days ahead of the final weekend have featured lots of talk of maletines (behind the scenes incentive payments) to teams such as Granada and Depor who have little to play for but can still play a big role in how the title race ends. But Zidane said the issue was irrelevant to him.
"I'm not getting into that," he said. "All I can say is what we will do ourselves. We have a final to play, where we must play our best game to win the three points. There is nothing else in our heads. The important thing is to win tomorrow's game. Anything else I don't look at or listen to, and am not going to talk about."
Zidane took over at Madrid in January with the team floundering and the dressing room unhappy with previous coach Rafa Benitez, but even after guiding them to within two games of the double he said he was not sure if he would still be in the job next season.
"I don't know if I have earned that," he said. "The important thing is the work we have done, above all the players. There were many doubts, but I don't think now that I will certainly continue -- I just do my work very day as I was asked to do. I don't know how this will end up, but I do know we will give everything. I have learned a lot in these five months, because this is not the same as coaching Castilla. But I like it a lot."