Like the first round of the presidential election which takes place on Sunday, this 31st day of Ligue 1 will be used to decide between those who wish to place themselves for the title and those who want to avoid being relegated. The weekend opens in particular with a match between Lorient and Saint Etienne for the maintenance race.
Eight days from the end of the championship, the last five teams are only held on five points, and this weekend could well mark a turning point in the season: Lorient, sixteenth with 28 points, hosts AS Saint-Etienne , 18th at a length.
The fight to stay in the top flight continues with Bordeaux–Metz Sunday (1:00 p.m.), which has everything of a last chance for the last two formations of the championship (23 pts). They have not tasted victory since January and are five units behind Clermont, the first non-relegation player.
Battle for the podium
At the antipodes of the classification, Marseilles intends to keep its place of runner-up at home against Montpellier at the end of the day on Sunday. But the Marseillais must be wary of reindeerthird, who intends to relaunch his offensive machine against Reimsafter a setback last week against Nice.
The Aiglons, fifth, will face a complicated trip to Stade Bollaert on Sunday, where lens has only fallen three times this season. In fourth place, Strasbourgsurprise guest of the battle for the podium, receives Olympique Lyonnais (9th), which is one of the last chances to grab the European places.