PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain could be crowned Ligue 1 champion this weekend without kicking a ball. Second-placed Lens travel to Nantes on Friday needing a win to keep the title race alive, while PSG await the result sitting six points clear with three matches remaining.
The decisive showdown between PSG and Lens was rescheduled from April 11 to give PSG better preparation for their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, which they won to reach next week's final. PSG lead Lens by six points and both have three games left on the schedule.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
Nantes, sitting next-to-last in the table, will be relegated to Ligue 2 on Friday unless they shock Lens in what would be an unlikely high point to their season.
Champions League spots tight at the top
Third place and an automatic Champions League berth is now effectively a two-team race between Lyon and Lille, separated by just two points in the standings.
Lyon, in third, travel to mid-table Toulouse with forwards Endrick, Afonso Moreira and Roman Yaremchuk all finding good form. Fourth-placed Lille face a tougher test at Monaco, who sit sixth and are strong at home.
Fifth-placed Rennes still have slim hopes of catching both but need Lyon and Lille to stumble simultaneously. Rennes host a Paris FC side revitalized since coach Antoine Kombouaré took charge — they've lost only once in nine games.
Rennes winger Mousa Al-Tamari scored a brilliant angled volley last Sunday and continues in rich form. Teammate Esteban Lepaul remains the league's top scorer and needs one more goal to reach 20 for the season, a remarkable comeback after being released by Lyon a few years ago. English forward Mason Greenwood has not scored since March 7 and remains stuck on 15 league goals.
Injury and suspension news
Lens will be missing five regulars against Nantes. Goal-scoring wingers Florian Thauvin and Allan Saint-Maximin are being rested as a precautionary measure, 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's difficult season takes another hit with Nayef Aguerd (groin) and Hamed Traoré (thigh) both out for the remaining games. Coach Habib Beye has doubled training sessions without turning results around, and third place is now mathematically out of reach. The club must avoid a fifth defeat in seven games.
Relegation battle at the bottom
Auxerre, currently 16th — the relegation-promotion playoff spot — host Nice in what amounts to a six-point survival match. A victory would move Auxerre into 15th place on goal difference.
Elsewhere
Women's soccer fans of Bordeaux reported being subjected to abusive body searches by security officials before a fourth-tier game at Bayonne on Saturday. The Ultramarines supporters group posted a statement calling the pat-downs "humiliating and degrading" and said the incidents have been reported to Her Game Too, an organization advocating for female fans in stadiums.
PSG's title could come down to how Nantes perform against the club that pushed them closest this season — a strange mercy for PSG to hope for from a team headed for Ligue 2.