The suspense remains intact before the penultimate day of Ligue 1, Sunday evening at 9 p.m.

Lille remains the big favorite for the title, with three points ahead of PSG, while at the bottom of the standings, seven clubs are fighting to try to stay.

The race for European places will also be in full swing.  

DECRYPTION

The end of the season is approaching, but the suspense is still just as intense in the French league.

While the 37th day of Ligue 1 is played on Sunday evening (all matches at 9 p.m.), Europe 1 looks back on the various issues of the last two days, between the fight for the title between PSG and Lille, the race for Europe, and fierce competition to stay at the bottom of the table. 

>> The multiplex of the 37th day of Ligue 1 can be listened to live and in full on Europe 1

Lille, PSG, who will be champion? 

While he had reigned supreme in recent years (except during the coronation of Monaco in 2016-2017), PSG is this time almost eliminated from the title race two days before the end of the season, after a draw against Rennes last Sunday. PSG is now three points behind the leader Lille, and no longer has its destiny in its hands. The Parisians, who face Reims on this 37th day, then Brest in the last match, will have to hope for a misstep from Lille against Saint-Etienne and Angers to catch up and keep the title. Because with its best goal difference, PSG (76 points, +52) needs to regain three points from the "Mastiffs" (79 pts, +40) to be champion. But if there is hope, it is weak. Lille remain on eleven wins and two draws away. 

Behind the men of Christophe Galtier and Mauricio Pochettino, two teams are fighting for third place, synonymous with access to the third qualifying round of the C1, even if mathematically the first two are not yet out of reach, in particular in the event of a misstep by PSG. With 74 points and in the momentum of its qualification for the final of the Coupe de France, AS Monaco starts with a slight advantage of one unit over Olympique Lyonnais (73 pts). The Principality's club will host Rennes on Sunday evening and then go to Lens next week. The Lyonnais, they play in Nîmes, then receive Nice for the final day. 

Note that third place could offer direct access to the group stage of the Champions League, if Manchester United qualifies for the C1 through their Championship and at the same time, they win the final of the Europa League against Villarreal. .

The team that finishes fourth will play in the group stage of the Europa League. 

The race for Europe is very close

Because the race for Europe is not just about the Champions League.

Four teams are engaged in a standoff for 5th and 6th qualifying places for two other European competitions.

OM, Lens, Rennes and, to a lesser extent, Montpellier, can still clinch 5th place and a qualification for the group stage of the Europa League.

Usually, this second qualifying place is reserved for the winner of the Coupe de France, but the two finalists (Monaco and PSG) are guaranteed to finish in the top four.

Finally, 6th place will allow it to qualify for the play-offs of the Europa League Conference, the little news among European games. 

A struggle to maintain still undecided

In the depths of the standings, Dijon, the red lantern, is already doomed to a return to Ligue 2. But in front of the Burgundy club, the fight is very close for maintenance, with no less than seven clubs in the fight.

Sunday, Nîmes gave itself the right to dream again by winning widely against Metz. A victory which brings the "Crocodiles" to two points from Nantes, the virtual jump-off, and three from Lorient and Strasbourg, the first non-relegated. But Pascal Plancque's men will have to deal with a complicated schedule, receiving Lyon before going to Rennes. Conversely, Strasbourg put itself in danger by losing against Montpellier at home, and will try to save its skin by moving to Nice on Sunday, then by receiving Lorient, a direct competitor, on May 23 at the Meinau stadium. , for a potentially explosive duel.   

Nantes, for its part, has relaunched well in recent weeks with three consecutive successes, and can start to look ahead. The Canaries are only one point behind Lorient and Strasbourg, and can even still overtake Brest and Bordeaux, which are only three and two points ahead. Bordeaux is particularly worried with 12 defeats since the end of January, all in a turbulent context with the announced withdrawal of the American shareholder from the club. The Girondins receive Lens on Sunday and will go to Reims on Matchday 38. The Nantes club must face him Dijon then Montpellier.