Lyon fights for Champions League berth

With the title race already decided, the last round of the French League will focus on the fight for the remaining Champions League spots with Lille and Lyon battling for the last automatic berth.

Lyon reached the semifinals of the tournament this year, but needs a win against relegated Le Mans on Saturday to make sure of a spot in next season's competition.

After leapfrogging Auxerre with a 3-0 win over Monaco in a postponed game Wednesday, Lyon is one point behind second-place Lille, which plays Lorient. If both teams lose, Auxerre would finish second with a win at Sochaux.

Marseille has already clinched the title.

The top two teams earn automatic spots in the Champions League group phase while the third-place team has to qualify.

"It's still all to play for," Lyon coach Claude Puel said. "We've had some fabulous times this season and we want to get back into the Champions League. We know what we have to do for that."

According to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, a failure to make the Champions League would cost the club about ?20 million in profits, although he has said it's a loss the club can afford.

Lyon is trying to reach the competition for an 11th consecutive time, but had never advanced past the quarterfinals before this season. It lost to Bayern Munich in the semifinals after knocking out Liverpool and Real Madrid in the previous knockout rounds.

"Lyon is having a wonderful season," said midfielder Miralem Pjanic, who scored against Monaco. "Now it's up to us and we will also be hoping that Lille will trip at Lorient."

Defending champion Bordeaux, which led Marseille by 12 points at the end of January before slipping to sixth place in the standings, can salvage some pride with a win at Lens and book a ticket for the Europa League if Montpellier fails to win at Paris Saint-Germain.

Bordeaux midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, who has reportedly been linked with a move to Lyon before next season, is expected to return to the field after recovering from a thigh injury.

According to France Football magazine, it will be Laurent Blanc's last game at the helm of Bordeaux, where he could be replaced by Auxerre boss Jean Fernandez. Blanc, a former Manchester United player who also won the World Cup in 1998, is a favorite to replace Raymond Domenech when he steps down as France coach after the World Cup.

Didier Deschamps, who was once tipped as a possible successor for Domenech, is likely to remain at Marseille, which clinched the French title last week. It plays last-place Grenoble on Saturday.

"I want to achieve things here in the medium term," Deschamps said. "So yes, it is possible that I'll sign a contract extension, especially if the president wants me to. We'll talk about it soon."

Deschamps' current contract expires at the end of the 2010-11 season.