The moment has finally arrived. Barring a big surprise, Barcelona will be confirmed as champions of La Liga on Saturday for the 26th time in their history: their eighth title in 11 seasons.

Exactly 252 days after kicking off their campaign with a 3-0 win at home to Alaves, the Catalans can close it out (with three fixtures still remaining) by beating lowly Levante at Camp Nou tonight.

With 34 games played so far, Barca have 80 points, nine more than second-placed Atletico, while they are 15 ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid. Once again, they have just been too good.

Barca have more wins (24) and fewer defeats (just two) than anyone else; they have scored at least 26 more goals than the rest (Real Madrid and Sevilla are the next best with 59 each) and also have the third-best defensive record in the table (after Atletico and Getafe).

“We place a lot of value on the league title,” Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde said on Friday. “More than anything else because it’s the title that defines the season. There are others, like the Copa [del Rey] and the Champions [League], but they depend more on specific moments.

“But this competition means winning a lot of matches and in tough places. How the club treats this competition says a lot about Barca.”

This will be a second successive league title for Valverde and an eighth in 11 campaigns for Barca, which is indeed testament to the team’s dominance in this era.

For captain Lionel Messi, will be a 10th at the Catalan club and that number will see the Argentine attacker surpass former team-mate Andres Iniesta – who won nine – to set yet another record.

Messi, team-mate Gerard Pique and coach Valverde all spoke to the squad as Barca trained ahead of the game, the trio standing in the middle and addressing the group as the players formed a circle for a five-minute talk at the start of Friday’s session.

Barca face Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals over two legs, starting at Camp Nou on Wednesday, and the Catalans want to wrap up the title before their two games against Jurgen Klopp’s men.

“We have four days until the game against Liverpool and winning tomorrow, for what it signifies, is something powerful ahead of Wednesday,” Valverde said on Friday.

Valverde, although not every Barca fan’s cup of tea, has made the Blaugrana extremely difficult to beat. In his two seasons in charge, he has overseen only three defeats in La Liga – and one of those came with the title already wrapped up last term.

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“I’m very happy,” he said on Friday. “I know that what this team is doing is difficult. If we win, it will be by a margin and in that respect, we are satisfied. But these players are extraordinary.”

This era certainly has been and La Liga could be the first of three titles for Barca this season, with the Catalans in the semi-finals of the Champions League and set to face Valencia in the Copa del Rey showpiece at the end of May.

On Saturday, the first piece of silverware should arrive and for the first time since 2009-10, Barca have the chance to seal the title in front of their own fans.

“Nobody wants to miss out on that,” Valverde said.