The reason why RM and Barca are basically out of title race

A lot has been written about Atletico Madrid's chances of winning La Liga this season. A lot of people believe they will win the league barring a major collapse in the second half of the campaign. 

We say that because there is no other way Atletico can lose the league. If Simeone's men win their game in hand, they will move onto 50 points after the first half of the season. That means they will be on course for 100 points. 

Even though it is very difficult for Atleti to keep up with the current rate, they can afford themselves a few slip-ups and Barca and Madrid would still not be able to catch them. 

If Barca won all their remaining matches this season, they would end up on 94 points. Real Madrid could reach 97, but not 100. If Atletico lost one game and drew twice in the second half of the season, they would still get 100. 

If Real Madrid, the team closest in the table to Atletico, got 50 points in the second half of the season (16 wins, two draws and a loss), they would still only get 90. That means Atletico could lose as many as five matches. 

Barcelona are in a much more difficult position because they cannot afford to drop any more points if they want to put pressure on Atletico- 

The seven and 10 point cushion plus a game in hand which Atletico have over Real Madrid and Barcelona means it is their league to lose.