After three of the top four clubs in Ligue 1 held serve last weekend and won their matches, the battle for the title and the final Champions League place remains tight. Neutrals’ favourites Lille are a point clear at the top of the table and only need to win at Angers to capture a well deserved title, but PSG are lurking and ready to pounce. If Lille slip up and PSG win at Brest they will clinch a domestic double. It would be quite the achievement for Mauricio Pochettino’s team given the tumult and stress they have endured this season – from the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel to the agonising will-he-won’t-he transfer saga surrounding Kylian Mbappé.

Monaco and Lyon are still locked in a battle for the final Champions League place following a shock win for Rudi Garcia’s side in the Principality last month. Even the battle for the Europa League remains tight. Marseille’s 3-2 win against Angers last Sunday – which was secured by a 95th-minute winner from Aleksandr Milik – has given the southern side the edge, but Rennes and Lens are still in the running. At the bottom, five teams are fighting to avoid the relegation play-off spot after Nîmes were condemned to a return to Ligue 2 last weekend.

Lille will not have an easy time of things against Angers. The leaders will be missing their captain and ever-present in defence, José Fonte, unless they can succeed in overturning his suspension; Lille are arguing that one of the yellow cards he received to pick up the suspension was not logged properly by referee Benoît Bastien. Even though Angers are 12th in the table and appear to have nothing to play for, they will be motivated given that this will be their final match in Stéphane Moulin’s 10-year reign as manager. Moulin will leave the club as something of a club legend, having not only taken them into Ligue 1 but also made them tough opponents throughout their spell in the top flight. His players will be all too eager to send their manager off in the best possible way.

PSG will face a similar challenge against Brest some 250 miles further west. The hosts may also be preparing to say goodbye to an iconic manager in the form of Olivier Dall’Oglio, who has an agreement in principle to join Montpellier. Dall’Oglio’s insistence on attacking football has made his teams consistently impressive, though Brest’s form has dipped in the second half of the season – only bottom side Dijon have won fewer matches in 2021. They are fighting to avoid falling into the relegation play-off place, so will be motivated.

Lyon, who trail Monaco by a point in the battle for the third Champions League place, will host Nice in a repeat of the final fixture of the 2017-18 season, another game they needed to win to secure a Champions League place. Lyon have responded well since their dramatic defeat to Lille last month, scoring a dozen goals in their last three matches. With Nice sitting comfortably in midtable and having little to play for, a win for Lyon in Memphis Depay’s swansong seems likely – though it may not be enough to guarantee them Champions League football next season.

If Monaco beat Lens, they will clinch third place. But Lens are no pushovers. Despite their squad being ravaged by Covid-19 in recent weeks, the newly promoted side have shown time and time again that they will fight until the final whistle. Moreover, with a place in the Europa Conference League still up for grabs, Franck Haise’s players – led by newly crowned Prix Marc-Vivien Foé winner Gaël Kakuta – also have something marvellous to play for. Monaco looked exhausted and bereft of ideas during their 2-0 defeat to PSG in the Coupe de France final on Wednesday night and will need to pick themselves up quickly.

Monaco have been one of the best teams in Europe in 2021, but they have enjoyed the luxury of being the hunters, rather than the hunted. The pressure of knowing that anything less than a win would not be enough for a Champions League place may prove to be a mental step too far. Despite the immense strides they have made in such a short period of time under Niko Kovac, perhaps they would not be ready to compete in Europe’s top competition next season anyway.

In the battle to avoid the relegation play-off place, permutations abound. Nantes, who have won their last four matches in a row, buoyed by the fine form of Randal Kolo Muani and Ludovic Blas, look well equipped to beat Montpellier at home and lift themselves to safety. Lorient and Strasbourg will play each other in the knowledge that a draw would guide them both to safety, provided PSG beat Brest. Reims and Bordeaux are also facing off, but only Bordeaux can be drawn into the play-off place, despite Reims dropping off badly since the announcement that coach David Guion will leave the club next month.

It will be a fascinating weekend. Of the 10 fixtures being played simultaneously on Sunday evening, only the match between Saint-Étienne and Dijon has nothing riding on it. While the race for the top four remains compelling in England and Italy, and La Liga can point to its own gripping title race and relegation battle, Ligue 1 has the most intriguing final round of fixtures. In what has been a challenging season, owing to the global health crisis and the fallout from the LFP’s television deal collapsing, France’s top flight has responded in style. Far from being a “farmer’s league”, it remains a hotbed of talent, tactical innovation and drama. It all looks set for a delicious dénouement come Sunday.