Real Madrid can transform their own season by beating Liverpool in this month's Champions League final, and on Sunday they can

dent Barcelona's by becoming the first team to defeat the Catalans in La Liga.

This 'clasico' at Camp Nou will have minimal impact on the league, with Barca already crowned champions and Real's passing interest in pipping Atletico to second place diminished by their ambitions in Europe.

But there is still much at stake in what

Madrid daily Marca has billed "the clasico of honour". It could even be argued this match will go some way to defining the seasons of these two teams.

Barca, in particular, have been careful in celebrating their domestic double, their players aware of the disappointment that lingers from their Champions League crash in the quarterfinals.

Even as they ordered pizza and slurped beer from the top of their open-top bus down Las Ramblas this week, it was noticeable how many still referenced the disappointment in Rome.

To soften the blow, Barca's best response was to win the Copa del Rey and

La Liga and finish unbeaten in the league for the first time, while hoping Real do not go all the way in Europe The latter two are still to be decided.

Real's march towards a 13th European triumph has certainly weighed heavily on Barcelona, whose sense of absence has been heightened by the progress of their rivals.

Barca are looking to avoid defeat this weekend, and in their last three league games against Villarreal, Levante and Real Sociedad to seal a historic season. But if Real snatch a victory at the Camp Nou and also see off Liverpool, perhaps the balance is tipped in their favour.