👉 Can Monaco and Brest win the Champions League chase?

The Bundesliga has Bayer Leverkusen. In Spain, we've got Girona. There's Aston Villa in the Premier League. And in Ligue 1, the mighty Brest can take a bow.

What all these top European leagues have in common is a can-do club upsetting the odds and exceeding all expectations by either winning the league or blazing a trail to next season's Champions League. 

At the start of the season, Brest were 10,000-1 outsiders to win Ligue 1, and with good reason considering Eric Roy's team finished 14th last year. While the Brittany side have not achieved that, Brest are on the brink of clinching a direct spot in next season's Champions League. No preliminary rounds, no extended season. Straight in with an arrow marked 'miracle'. "Last season we secured survival with three games left. It's remarkable," says Eric Roy.

If Brest beat listless Reims on Friday and Lille drop points at a Nantes team battling against the drop, then Champions League football will be coming to Brest next season, but probably not to the town itself due to the limited size of the stadium. 

Monaco are set to join Brest facing the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City ... and Girona, with the Monte Carlo outfit needing just one point from the final two games of the season to seal the deal. 

Friday 2:50PM ET  - Stade Brest vs. Stade Reims - live on beIN SPORTS

Sunday 2:50PM ET - Montpellier vs. Monaco - live on beIN SPORTS XTRA FOR FREE 

👉 What reception awaits the PSG players in Sunday's trophy celebration?

In an alternate dimension, Sunday's atmosphere in the Parc de Princes is different to the one found in ours. In that reality, a couple of the chances that hit the woodwork against Borussia Dortmund went in and Kylian Mbappe turned up for the semifinal games in the Champions League. 

The post-match celebrations planned by PSG were to be pep rally, to send the players off for a date against Real Madrid at Wembley. Instead, it will be tough for fans to build up enthusiasm after Tuesday's huge missed opportunity against the Bundesliga's fifth-ranked side. 

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Instead, the job of Luis Enrique will be to inspire a morale-boosting win against Toulouse, to keep the team ticking over ahead of the upcoming Coupe de France final against Lyon that could seal a domestic treble. "There is a lot of hurt. That is sport," revealed the PSG coach after the damaging loss. 

The message that the Spanish manager will also want to convey is that progress is being made, and the future is promising despite the unresolved nature of the elephant in the room that is PSG's number 9. 

Sunday 2:50PM ET - PSG vs. Toulouse - live on beIN SPORTS  

👉 Can Lyon pull off a miracle 2024 with a European place?

Back in February, Lyon were contemplating a relegation battle that could have brought about the end of the club as we know it if lost. Instead, Lyon are going into the final two matches of the season with an outside chance of playing European football next season through the path of Ligue 1. 

Lyon are two points and one place behind Lens in the tussle for a spot in next season's UEFA Conference League. Even if it's a bridge too far for OL in the end, the transformation of the club under the supposedly temporary manager Pierre Sage has been remarkable. This fighting spirt was epitomized in Monday's Ligue 1 match of the season at Lille, when Lyon came back from 3-2 down in the 88th minute to score two goals. It tops a record under Sage of 17 victories in 24 games.

At least Lyon have a second chance to crack Europe if it doesn't work out in Ligue 1. A decisive Coupe de France final against PSG awaits an incredible OL at the end of the season. 

Sunday 2:50PM - Clermont Foot vs. Lyon - live on beIN SPORTS CONNECT 5

Saturday 25th May - Coupe de France Final: Lyon vs. PSG - live on beIN SPORTS in Canada