Two days before the end of the championship, we still do not know who from Monaco, Brest or Lille will directly accompany Paris SG, already titled, in the Champions League next season. If mathematically, Monaco (61 points) is not there yet, the current runner-up of PSG has one foot and four toes in C1. The last directly qualifying place for the most prestigious of the European Cups should therefore be played out between Brest, the surprise team of the season, 3rd with 57 points and Lille, 4th with 55 points.
Brest was held 1-1 at home by Reims (10th) on Friday during the 33rd and penultimate day of Ligue 1, and its third place finds itself a little more threatened by Lille, traveling to Nantes on Sunday. Lille, on the contrary, travels to Nantes on Sunday (9 p.m.), 14th invigorated by the return to its bed of Antoine Kombouraré, but which must still ensure its maintenance in Ligue 1. Lille, moreover, must recover from the train “caught in the mouth” as their president Olivier Létang said, after their spectacular defeat against Lyon 4-3 last weekend.
Nothing is yet decided either for obtaining the 5th and 6th places, qualifying for the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, but the suspense could take more time to settle. Nice offered itself a qualification for a European Cup next season thanks to its victory at the Allianz Riviera, Friday evening at the opening of the 33rd day, against Le Havre (1-0), which on the other hand, did not not yet ensured its maintenance. Lyon (7th), best team in Ligue 1 in the second part of the season, after being relegated at the end of the 15th day, is making a rarely seen rise in the rankings. The Lyonnais travel to Clermont on Sunday (9 p.m.), 18th and practically relegated, to end a completely crazy season like a cannonball. Rennes (8th) welcomes Lens (6th) in a decisive duel for Europe, while Marseille, 9th, with a game in hand, welcomes Lorient, 17th and as bad as Clermont.
Everyone hopes that PSG wins the final of the Coupe de France against Lyon on May 25. In this case, the 6th position will offer a ticket for the Europa League and the 7th an access to the Europa League Conference and would therefore leave only one of them behind.
Clermont and Lorient, still mathematically in Ligue 1, should go directly to the lower level next season unlike Nantes which, by holding Brest to a draw last week, practically saved itself. Who then, Le Havre, 15th with 32 points, or Metz (16th, 29 pts) will have to go through a play-off against the 3rd in Ligue 2 to save their place in the elite?
Statistically, the HAC, the oldest club, has, according to Opta’s predictive tool, a 97% chance of maintaining its position and leaving Metz with the anxiety of playing a decisive match. The people of Lorraine can find reason for hope in a trip on Sunday (9 p.m.) to Strasbourg, 13th, already maintained and which has nothing more to play for this season.
