Close to qualifying for the Champions League are Monaco and Brest

This weekend will mark the conclusion of the four-team race in Ligue 1 to advance to the Champions League the following season, while a number of clubs are still fighting to stay in the league.

Since Paris Saint-Germain has already won the title and is off domestic duty this week, other teams will be in the limelight.

Here, AFP Sport examines the remaining positions in the French top flight that are open:

The Champions League race is intensifying.
With a thrilling 5-4 win against Rennes last Sunday, Brest secured their spot in Europe for the first time in their history.

The Breton team is also very close to earning a Champions League spot.

The fourth-place team advances to the qualification stages, while the top three clubs in Ligue 1 are guaranteed spots in the Champions League group stage.

Going into their home game against Nantes on Saturday, Brest is in third place, one point ahead of Lille and two behind Monaco.

We managed to survive last season with three games remaining. We are now eligible to go to Europe. After winning the Brittany derby, Eric Roy, the coach of Brest, said, “It’s remarkable.”

Nice, who are now in fifth position and have not played this weekend, are still very much in the running after going four games without losing. They are currently four points behind.

Monaco’s victory against bottom-place team Clermont at home might guarantee at least a top-four finish, while Lille will host Lyon at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Monday.

Lyon is still being sought after by Europe
Lyon was at the bottom of the standings with only seven points from 14 games this season, and they were going to have an embarrassing battle simply to avoid relegation.

However, after taking over as coach in lieu of Fabio Grosso, Pierre Sage has improved their results, and the seven-time French champions are now considering making their first trip back to Europe since they made it to the Europa League quarterfinals two years ago.

Following Monaco’s victory, Sage said, “We will try to grab as many points as possible to achieve this goal.” “In games, my players can recover from setbacks and take the lead back.”

Lille can make significant progress toward the Champions League, but Lyon was winning five league away games before to a setback at PSG last month.

Clermont expecting to escape by miracle
As the last three rounds of play approach, there are just seven points separating 14th-place Nantes and bottom-seeded Clermont in the race to avoid dropping out.

Clermont defeated Reims 4-1 last week, greatly boosting their waning survival prospects. They will need to play well again against Monaco.

They are still behind 15th-place Le Havre and Metz, who are in the relegation play-offs and will visit Rennes on Saturday. Metz now hold the play-off slot.

Despite having just one point from their past seven league games and an arduous journey to Lens, second-bottom Lorient are one point closer to safety.