After Troyes secured promotion as champions of Ligue 2, there is only one direct ticket left for promotion to Ligue 1 which three clubs – Le Mans, Saint-Etienne, and Red Star – can still grab on the 34th and final matchday this Saturday evening. All matches will take place at 8 pm. Beaten in their last three matches, Saint-Etienne (57 points) have surrendered their 2nd place to Le Mans (59 pts) and no longer control their destiny to hope for a return to Ligue 1 one year after leaving it, joining Troyes in travelling to Grenoble.
The Greens will end their season at home against Amiens, who are already relegated, but will need a defeat for Le Mans against Bastia (17th) in order to avoid direct relegation. Equal on points with Saint-Etienne but with an unfavorable goal difference, Red Star can also mathematically still contend for promotion. However, the club from Île-de-France, guaranteed to at least play in the promotion playoffs, must beat Montpellier (8th) and also hope for slip-ups from Le Mans and Saint-Etienne to make it.
Behind this battle for direct promotion, the fight for the playoffs is also intense with three clubs – Rodez, Reims, and Annecy – vying for the last spot and a potential musical chairs scenario. Annecy (7th, 52 pts) will host Rodez (5th, 55 pts), unbeaten in 19 league matches. Annecy must win and hope that Reims does not defeat Pau, while Reims will seek victory and hope for a defeat or draw for Rodez to snatch the 5th and final qualifying spot.
At the bottom of the table, current playoff team Laval, who are just one point above Bastia, will have the advantage of hosting Boulogne-sur-Mer (13th), who have nothing to play for, to retain a chance of staying up in a potential double confrontation against the 3rd-placed team from the National league. Clermont (14th) and Guingamp (11th) as well as Nancy (15th) and Dunkerque (10th) will face each other in matches with no stakes in the standings.
