TNT Sports Reload - Episode 11
Sep 26Paris Saint-Germain's 1-1 draw at Strasbourg on Saturday secured the Ligue 1 title, and now that the top three are set in stone, the focus turns to the fight for fourth and fifth, as well as the battle to beat the drop.
Lille leapfrogged Monaco into the sole Europa League qualification spot last weekend and travel to relegated Troyes on Saturday, while Rennes, who are now in the only Europa Conference League qualification position, visit Brest as Monaco host Toulouse and Lyon take a trip to the Allianz Riviera to take on Nice.
At the other end of the table, Nantes must beat bottom side Angers to avoid relegation, but even that won't be enough if 16th-placed Auxerre defeat second-placed Lens.
Read on for the main storylines, with all 10 of the weekend fixtures taking place on Saturday at 8pm.
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Les Dogues hope to show final-day bite
Sitting a point above Rennes and Monaco, Lille will guarantee Europa League qualification with a victory at Troyes, who are already relegated.
Paulo Fonseca has done an excellent job since arriving last summer at a club that had just finished 10th following a sensational title triumph in 2020/21.
The start of the Portuguese's tenure was extremely inconsistent, but things started to pick up in October and Les Dogues broke into the top five in mid-February, swapping places with Rennes over the next two months.
In the last six weeks, Lille have reeled in Monaco, capitalising on the principality outfit's recent collapse to overcome a six-point deficit and leapfrog them.
Fonseca's men have demonstrated significant steel in their last two matches, twice coming from 1-0 down to record 2-1 victories over Marseille and Nantes.
Even if Lille do fend off Rennes and Monaco, the future of several key figures is uncertain, not least Fonseca, who has been linked with a move to West Ham should David Moyes be sacked over the summer.
Jonathan David, Timothy Weah and Edon Zhegrova are also thought to be the subject of keen interest, with the Canadian having bagged 24 goals in Ligue 1 this term to sit third on the top scorers' list behind Alexandre Lacazette and Kylian Mbappe.
Troyes' campaign meanwhile has ended with a whimper. They haven't won since 2 January at Strasbourg and incredibly haven't picked up three points at home since late August.
Their last match was a new low as they threw away a one-goal lead at bottom side Angers to lose 2-1.
Star striker Mama Balde is said to be a Burnley target, while former Chelsea youngster Ike Ugbo is reportedly being monitored by Rangers.
Manager Patrick Kisnorbo has pledge to stay on however, despite struggling since his move from Melbourne City in November.
Ruthless Rennes aim for one more win
Like Lille, Rennes have seized on Monaco's late-season demise.
Since the 2-1 defeat at Nice last month, Bruno Genesio's men have thrashed Troyes and Ajaccio 4-0 and 5-0 respectively, before seeing off Monaco 2-0 last weekend to move above them on goal difference.
In that latest encounter, Arsenal and Liverpool-linked midfielder Lovro Majer popped up with just his second Ligue 1 goal of the campaign and Amine Gouiri rifled in Benjamin Bourigeaud's incisive pass to make the difference, with that strike taking Gouiri's goal involvements tally to eight in as many matches.
Their final game of the campaign is against Brest, who have quietly impressed since Eric Roy took the helm in January and secured their Ligue 1 status on 21 May with a 2-1 win over in-form Clermont.
They backed up that three points with a superb 2-1 win at Marseille thanks to Hugo Magnetti's deflected strike and Mahdi Camara's back-post header.
Indeed, only Lens have picked up more points than Brest's 12 in the last five games, meaning the Pirates are one to watch heading into next year and could finish as high as 13th this season.
The one slight downside for Roy's men is the expected summer departure of Franck Honorat, who has instrumental since joining Brest in 2019.
Monaco on urgent rescue mission
It's not hard to see why questions are being asked about Philippe Clement's future at Monaco.
The team were sitting comfortably in fourth and even had a Champions League run in their sights, but a horrible run of just four points from their last six matches - including only three goals scored - has now left Les Monegasques sitting sixth and needing other results to go their way on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Alexander Nubel endured a tough evening at Rennes last weekend as the German was unable to keep out Lovro Majer's scuffed effort before then failing to cover his near post as Amine Gouiri fired home.
Monaco now face the prospect of no European football in 2023/24 after back-to-back Champions League qualifications.
Perhaps fortunately, they next face Toulouse, who haven't scored in their last four outings as an impressive season back in the top flight, along with Coupe de France glory, has fizzled out.
Le Tefece are losing a quartet of influential players this summer, with Branco van den Boomen, Stijn Spierings, Maxime Dupe and Brecht Dejaegere all departing at the end of their contracts.
The southern French outfit are backing themselves to find replacements for the four players using their heavily data-driven approach, which has been central to their overachievement this term.
A note of caution for Monaco: despite Toulouse's goal drought, they have only conceded once in that time. Another tight and tense game beckons.
Nantes staring into the abyss
Ten years after they were promoted back to Ligue 1, Nantes need three points to give themselves a chance of keeping themselves in the top flight.
The descent has been rapid. Nantes were 10 points clear of danger in mid-February after a 1-0 win over Lorient, but haven't picked up a league victory in the 14 games since, despite progressing to last month's Coupe de France final, where they were thrashed by Toulouse.
Dismayingly, the Canaries conceded two penalties last time out at Lille after taking the lead, with the second of those spot-kicks dispatched on 88 minutes by Jonathan David.
Thankfully for Pierre Aristouy's men, they face bottom side Angers on Saturday, although Les Noirs et Blancs actually won their last encounter against Troyes as they netted for the seventh straight match.
Aristouy's opposite number Alexandre Dujeux, parachuted into the hotseat during Angers' ultimately doomed fight against relegation, has helped improve their displays, earning him a contract which will ties him down until 2025.
Even a Nantes victory might not be enough if Auxerre overcome the odds and defeat Lens. Supporters of both sides will have their phones handy for the final 90 minutes of an emotionally taxing campaign.
Auxerre on Cors for survival
Despite Nantes facing Angers on the final day, Auxerre will feel marginally more confident of survival despite being up against Lens, as the Burgundy outfit sit two points clear of their relegation rivals.
After achieving promotion to Ligue 1 along with Toulouse and Ajaccio last season, Auxerre will view any finish above the dotted line as a success after amassing just three points in the last six games.
Christophe Pelissier's men will therefore be thankful for a three-game winning streak at the start of April - which included a 2-1 victory over Nantes - which has provided somewhat of a buffer heading into the final day.
Their only hope is that Lens have now lost motivation after Paris Saint-Germain ended the title race last weekend.
That said, the Blood and Gold have won their last five encounters en route to securing Champions League qualification - just three years after promotion to Ligue 2.
Were they to emerge victorious at Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps, Franck Haise's side would move on to 84 points, the highest tally of any Ligue 1 runners-up for six years and enough to win the title in 2020/21.
Despite securing a place at European football's top table, Lens are surely braced for a flood of offers for their key players, not least captain Seko Fofana and star striker Lois Openda.
However, the club are in a strong bargaining position and now have Champions League revenue to boost their coffers. The future is bright.
