Ligue 1 preview: Title race heats up for PSG, Montpellier

Second-placed Paris St Germain cannot afford to falter in their Ligue 1 clash against bottom club Auxerre on Sunday.

Montpellier moved three points clear of PSG after beating Marseille in their midweek game in hand, and are the bookmakers’ favourites to account for 18th-placed Lorient.

Lorient have won just one of their last 16 league appearances, while Montpellier head into the contest at Stade du Moustoir in search of their fourth consecutive win.

PSG are also coming off a win against Marseille, who will face Lyon in the French league cup final on Saturday, and must win at Auxerre to maintain the pressure on Montpellier with seven games remaining.

“We’re three points behind (Montpellier), but we’re going to fight to the very end to try and turn things around and overtake them,” PSG defender Maxwell told psg.fr.

“We’re at the point of the season now where every point will be absolutely crucial. We have to be totally focused on each league outing to try and make the difference.

“Any slip up from here on in is absolutely unacceptable.”

Auxerre are rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table with 27 points and are battling to avoid relegation for the first time since entering France’s top flight in 1980.

Only seven points split the bottom eight sides, with Sochaux (19th) hosting Dijon (14th) in a bid to reduce the gap between two teams to one point.

Elsewhere, Lille will aim to strengthen their grip on third spot and a berth in the Champions League qualifiers next season against 17th-placed Ajaccio.

In the middle of the table, Evian are likely to be without midfielder Sidney Govou (Achilles) and Ghanaian John Mensah (thigh) for their fixture against Valenciennes, while Brest will travel to Saint Etienne.

Nancy will take on Bordeaux also on Sunday, with Stade Rennes facing Nice on Monday.