Since 2010, two players have dominated Spain's Pichichi award for best goalscorer in La Liga: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But this year looks to be a different matter altogether with one player out of the race and the other losing ground to a new contestant.

Luis Suarez is that man and by all accounts he is going to be Spain's top scorer. He is currently running away with the contest leading Cristiano Ronaldo by three goals and Messi by nine.

Messi Passes the Torch

Messi is capable of mounting a tremendous reversal, but to this point, the superstar has deferred to his Uruguayan teammate on a number of fronts, giving him the frontrunner status.

Messi was once Barcelona's penalty taker, but his struggles from the spot have seen him give the spotlight to Suarez who took two penalties for Blaugrana in the team's most recent victory over Sporting Gijon.

Suarez Inconsistent But Scoring in Bunches

Barcelona was mired in struggles for over a month with Suarez struggling to get back in the swing of things. From February 23 through April 17, the forward had racked up more yellow cards as he had goals; he had five cards and four goals during that 10 game span.

But the two recent games have seen a massive turnaround for the team and Suarez, with the superstar scoring eight of Barcelona's 14 goals in those two games while adding three assists as well.

Of course Suarez still has to showcase that he can do this consistently for his team, something that he had done earlier in the year but struggled to do in recent months. If he can keep this form, then Suarez could be looking at topping 40 goals; he is six goals away and has three games to get there.

Ronaldo's Injury is X-Factor

It also helps that Ronaldo is struggling with an injury. The superstar had found his best form and had produced at a goal-per-game pace since November after struggling to find the net in consecutive games. Ronaldo is still likely to play a factor in Madrid's remaining three games and will undoubtedly score a few goals in coming weeks. But how or if the injury will slow him down remain a big question. Two years ago, Ronaldo struggled with an injury, slowing his output down and limiting his effectiveness.

If this holds true this season, Suarez who have no issue winning being the first player not named Messi or Ronaldo to win the Pichichi since 2009.

Remaining Opponents for Ronaldo and Suarez

The remaining schedule for the two superstars is as follows.

Ronaldo and Madrid take on Real Sociedad this weekend before hosting Valencia in the second-to-last weekend. In the final La Liga game of the year, Madrid visits Deportivo La Coruna. This season, Ronaldo has two goals and three assists against those three teams.

Suarez and Barcelona's three remaining fixtures include games against Real Betis, Espanyol and Granada. Against those three teams, Suarez has had two goals and two assists in 2015-16.

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