Ligue 1: What's at Stake in the Season Finale?
Can Brest complete the miracle of the season and will Lyon make a late charge for Europe?
Will Brest go all the way to the Champions League?
The Ligue 1 season has already been incredible for Brest. A team that should have been either mid-table at best, or in a relegation fight at worst is now guaranteed European soccer next season. "It is exceptional to already be guaranteed fourth, it feels surreal talking about it but we’ve done it!” said a delighted Brest coach, Eric Roy, to L’Équipe.
Fourth is good. But third could be even better. Fourth would see Brest going into the Champions League qualification phase but facing two rounds before reaching the group stages if all went well. At best, it's the chance to play Real Madrid next season. At worst, a place in the Europa League to potentially play Chelsea.
Lille currently hold third place which gives direct access to the Champions League, to join Monaco who have already clinched second. Both Lille and Brest are tied on points, but Lille's goal difference is better by a margin of +2. This means that Brest will either have to better Lille's result on Sunday or hit the goalscoring afterburners should both teams win.
The two teams are playing opposition with nothing to lose (or gain), literally in Brest's case who are playing at a mid-table Toulouse. Lille are at home to Nice. It's a fixture that looks tough on paper, but could be simpler on grass after Nice lost to PSG on Wednesday to see the Riviera team in fifth spot and a guaranteed Europa League place next season, with no chance of moving up or down the standings.
Sunday - 2:50PM ET: Lille vs. Nice - Live on beIN SPORTS
Sunday - 2:50PM ET: Toulouse vs. Brest - Live on beIN SPORTS XTRA FOR FREE
Will Lens or Lyon (or Marseille!) grab the UEFA Conference League place?
As mentioned just now, Nice have clinched the division's Europa League place. So that leaves a single spot in next season's UEFA Conference League up for grabs.
However, the European picture won't be completely clear until after the Coupe de France final which affords a place in the UEFA League. Lyon are both in that match against PSG and also in the hunt for a UEFA Conference League place. That's when things are going to get a bit messy.
Lens currently hold that place and a win at home to Montpellier will see sixth secured. Should Lens lose then Lyon can sneak in. Should both fail then even Marseille can move into sixth, despite a damaging defeat at Reims on Wednesday in a performance that Leonardo Balerdi described in a fairly strong potty-word. "Now, we have to win the last match, just for our self-esteem. And it will be over," fumed the Argentine defender.
Sunday - 2:50PM ET: Lens vs. Montpellier: Live on beIN SPORTS CONNECT
Sunday - 2:50PM ET: Lyon vs. Strasbourg: Live on beIN SPORTS CONNECT
Sunday - 2:50PM ET: Le Havre vs. Marseille: Live on beIN SPORTS CONNECT
Who is going down and who is coming up?
In Ligue 1, the bottom two teams are relegated automatically. Clermont Foot have already taken one spot. Lorient would need to beat Clermont on Sunday and hope Metz lose to PSG with a combined swing of seven goals in Lorient's favor. Even if that comes to pass, that would only take Lorient into a play-off spot.
So it looks 99% likely that Metz will be playing the winner of Ligue 2's promotion playoff process, all of which will be live on beIN SPORTS. Auxerre have clinched the first promotion spot. Angers need to beat Dunkerque on the final day of the regular season on Friday to guarantee taking the second spot. Should they lose or draw and Saint Etienne beat Quevilly-Rouen then the French greats will be back in the top-flight after a two-year absence. If Angers prevail, then Saint Etienne will join two more teams in a promotion playoff process that will eventually see the winner play Metz.
Got all that? Good.
Friday - 2:35PM ET: Angers vs. Dunkerque - live on beIN SPORTS XTRA FOR FREE