AS Monaco will be hoping that they can secure their place in next season's Champions League when they travel to Lorient in their final match of the Ligue 1 season this weekend.
They face a side that will be safe in the knowledge their place in the French top flight is secured, having not lost in their last four outings.
Lorient
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Lorient sit six points clear of the relegation zone heading into this weekend's final round of fixtures, with two wins and two draws in the last month ensuring that the team will still be in Ligue 1 next season.
Sylvain Ripoll's side come into this match fresh from a 1-1 draw with Nantes in their last outing, which saw Papy Djilobodji put the side ahead after just four minutes.
Jordan Ayew's goalscoring form has been instrumental in the team's push to avoid relegation, finding the net three times in their last four outings.
Scoring goals has not been a problem for Lorient in general this season, with the team netting 44 times in the league so far, more than half of the other teams in the division, including Lille and Guingamp, who sit in the top half of the table.
The team has struggled defensively at times though, keeping just 10 clean sheets and letting in 49 goals in their first 37 fixtures of the season.
Regardless of this weekend's result, Lorient will have their lowest finish in Ligue 1 since 2011-12, when they finished 17th, although a win could be enough to lift them as high as 12th in the final standings.
Recent form: DLWDWD
AS Monaco
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Monaco know that three points from this match will guarantee their place in the Champions League next season, with the side sitting just two points clear of fourth-placed Marseille heading into the final weekend.
Last season's runners-up come into this match in strong form, winning four of their last six outings in Ligue 1, including last weekend's 2-0 victory over Metz, with just one loss in their previous 13 fixtures.
Leonardo Jardim's side have had the best defence in the league this season, keeping 19 clean sheets and conceding just 26 goals, fewer than any other side in Ligue 1.
Monaco have not been as prolific in front of goal as some of the sides around them in the table though, finding the back of the net just 50 times, 30 times fewer than champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Speculation over the future of one of the club's most prolific players, Radamel Falcao, has been rife heading into this fixture, with the striker having seemingly waved goodbye to Manchester United fans after their final home match of the Premier League season. That has opened the possibility of the Colombian heading back to the principality following his loan with Louis van Gaal's side, although other clubs are thought to be interested too.
Monaco know that Jardim will be sticking around next season though, as he signed a contract extension last week, keeping him with the club until 2019.
Recent form: WDWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): DDWWLW
Team News
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Monaco will still be without defender Aymen Abdennour after he suffered a hamstring injury earlier this month, prematurely ending his season a couple of fixtures before the end of the campaign.
Jardim suggested at his pre-match press conference that he will trust his young players to secure a top-three finish, although he did not reveal any new injury news.
The manager also highlighted Lorient's synthetic pitch as a factor that could sway his team selection this weekend, as he will need players that can quickly adapt to the conditions.
Lorient also have a notable absentee, with Benjamin Jeannot having been out for almost a month with a right knee and ankle injury, ending a promising debut campaign from the young striker, which included seven goals in 31 appearances.
However, Ripoll will have the option to name an unchanged side with no fresh fitness concerns reported in the run-up to this match.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Lecomte, Kone, Guerreiro, Lautoa, Gassama, Mostefa, Jouffre, Ndong, Mesloub, Philippoteaux, Ayew
AS Monaco possible starting lineup:
Subasic, Fabinho, Kurzawa, Carvalho, Raggi, Moutinho, Silva, Ferreira-Carrasco, Kondogbia, Toulalan, Marial
Head To Head
When these two sides met at Stade Louis II earlier in the season, Monaco were reduced to 10 men, leaving the visitors to come away with a surprise 2-1 win.
The win was Lorient's first in their last five meetings with Monaco, and just their fourth in 19 total fixtures against this weekend's opponents.
Monaco have beaten Lorient nine times in the past, while six of their fixtures have ended in a stalemate, including last season's clash at Stade du Moustoir.
In recent seasons, this has been something of a heated fixture, with three of the last six matches between the two sides resulting in a player being sent off.
We say: Lorient 1-2 AS Monaco
Lorient have proved a tricky side to beat in recent weeks, but with the home side's Ligue 1 status now secured, AS Monaco have more to play for as they try to clinch their place in the Champions League next season. With the added incentive of having been beaten by Lorient earlier in the season, the visitors should have plenty of motivation to push them to victory.
Sian Cowper
