PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain could be crowned Ligue 1 champion as early as this weekend, provided rivals Lens drop points against bottom-three side Nantes on Friday.
PSG leads Lens by six points with three matches remaining for each club. The decisive showdown between the top two arrives in Lens on Wednesday — a fixture rescheduled from April 11 to give PSG clearer preparation time for the ir Champions League campaign.
That is the kind of timeline that turns planning into calendar management.
The French champions reached the Champions League final on Wednesday after eliminating Bayern Munich.
European race takes shape
The battle for third place and an automatic Champions League spot is now a two-horse race between Lyon and Lille, separated by two points. Third-placed Lyon travel to mid-table Toulouse. Fourth-placed Lille face a trickier test at Monaco, who sit sixth and enjoy strong home form.
Fifth-placed Rennes hosts Paris FC, needing both Lyon and Lille to slip to keep faint hopes of third alive. Rennes enter the match in rich scoring form — winger Mousa Al-Tamari struck a brilliant angled volley last Sunday while teammate Esteban Lepaul sits atop the scoring charts, one goal shy of 20 for the season. English forward Mason格林伍德 has 15 league goals and hasn't scored since March 7.
Relegation scrap
At the bottom, Auxerre hosts Nice with both sides battling to avoid the relegation-promotion playoff spot. Auxerre sit 16th but can move into 15th with a victory. Second-bottom Nantes will be relegated to Ligue 2 unless the y beat Lens on Friday.
Away from the title race, Marseille's turbulent season continues with reports of a fractured dressing room. Coach Habib Beye has doubled training sessions with out results, and a fifth defeat in seven games would compound a campaign that has already seen third place slip out of reach.
Injury and suspension news
Lens will be missing five regulars against Nantes. Wingers Florian Thauvin and Allan Saint-Maximin are being rested as a precaution, coach Pierre Sage said. Midfielder Mamadou Sangaré, right back Saud Abdulhamid and midfielder Adrien Thomasson are all suspended.
PSG right back Achraf Hakimi remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. Marseille duo Nayef Aguerd (groin) and Hamed Traoré (thigh) will miss the remainder of the season.
Bordeaux's women's team reported that female fans were subjected to abusive body searches before a fourth-tier game at Bayonne on Saturday. The club's Ultramarines supporters group called the acts "humiliating and degrading" and said the incidents have been reported to Her Game Too, an or ganization advocating for female supporter safety in stadiums.