Previews: Govou targets farewell gift
PARIS - Brief news from Ligue 1 before Saturday's final round of matches.
Olympique Lyon forward Sidney Govou wants to bid farewell to the club he has graced for over a decade by offering them a Champions League spot.
Third-placed Lyon will finish second to gain direct access to the Champions if they win at home against Le Mans and Lille, currently in the runners-up spot, do not win at Lorient.
"I'll give it everything I have because I want to leave on a high note by helping my club secure a Champions League spot," France winger Govou, who said he would leave Lyon but did not say where he would go next, told Reuters.
Lille are confident they can win at Lorient to finish runners-up to Olympique Marseille and make the Champions League without needing a preliminary round.
"We now have the experience to handle that type of match and we have showed lately that we could win away matches so we're going to Lorient to win, clearly," Lille coach Rudi Garcia told reporters.
Sixth-placed Girondins Bordeaux need to win at Racing Lens to stand a chance of finishing in the top five and qualifying for the Europa League.
Coach Laurent Blanc has summoned his players to the club training camp for Sunday. He is favourite to replace Raymond Domenech as France coach after the World Cup. The official announcement is set for May 20.
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Fifth-placed Montpellier, visiting Paris Saint-Germain, are confident they can cap a surprise run by qualifying for the Europa League.
"There's Europe to play for and we'll play that match with a lot of confidence and absolutely no pressure," Montpellier coach Rene Girard told reporters.
Fourth-placed Auxerre, the other surprise package this season, still stand a chance of making the Champions League if they win at lowly Sochaux.
"It will not be easy but we can make it," goalkeeper Olivier Sorin told Reuters. "To be honest, we would be a little bit disappointed if we didn't make it."
Champions Olympique Marseille will be in party mood when they host relegated bottom side Grenoble in a clash of extremes with nothing at stake.
"I don't want my players to take it too easy," warned Marseille coach Didier Deschamps "We must respect our opponents," he told reporters.