In a French title race full of twists and turns Paris Saint-Germain will go back to the top of the table if they can beat Valenciennes on Sunday before current leaders Montpellier play on Monday.
Just days ago, PSG looked to have kissed their hopes of a first Ligue 1 crown since 1994 goodbye after slipping five points behind Montpellier in the wake of a 2-1 defeat at Lille.
But then Montpellier were held to a 2-2 home draw by Evian-Thonon-Gaillard on Tuesday after missing a stoppage-time penalty before PSG beat Saint-Etienne 2-0 to close the gap back to three points.
Carlo Ancelotti's side now go to Valenciennes looking to record back-to-back league wins for the first time in two months, although the northern side have proven difficult to beat at their Stade du Hainaut home this season and will not make life easy for the men from the capital as they chase the win that will seal their survival.
PSG's goal difference is inferior to that of Montpellier by one, but they have scored three more goals and will therefore go back to the summit, for 24 hours at least, with a win.
Paris' Italian international goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu admits he has been through all the emotions this week but now has his sights set on top spot again.
"After the defeat at Lille I was sad and down but I never said the title was lost," he said.
"I said that it was slipping away from us. Now we are three points behind and we need to think about ourselves, not worry about the maths but just focus on the match at Valenciennes. After that, we will see."
This will be the first weekend since March in which PSG have played before their main title rivals and Sirigu believes that will give them an advantage.
He said: "Playing after a direct rival does add a bit of pressure because you are conditioned by their result. This weekend we will be able to focus entirely on ourselves."
Montpellier face a tough-looking trip to Rennes on Monday.
Rennes are poised to seize a Europa League berth, while the league leaders are feeling the pressure after the remarkable finish to their game against Evian, in which Souleymane Camara missed from the spot at the death while playmaker Younes Belhanda was sent off.
Belhanda will miss the remainder of the season as a result, while his criticism of teammate Olivier Giroud in a subsequent interview with sports daily L'Equipe has led to suggestions of unrest in the camp.
Belhanda said Giroud -- Ligue 1's top scorer with 21 goals -- shirked his responsibilities by not taking that penalty against Evian, but coach Rene Girard has blamed the media for trying to create a storm out of the issue.
"There is no tension," he said. "With three games of the season left, while we can win the title, people are trying to unsettle us with their rubbish.
"Paris and Lille are in their rightful place, the ugly duckling is us, and we are not going to go away until the season is finished."
Lille, who go to Montpellier next, will remain in the running if they can beat Caen.
Rudi Garcia's side have won seven of their last eight games and will expect to get the better of opponents who are not yet safe from the threat of relegation.
There are no games on Saturday this weekend after France's clubs agreed not to play on the 20th anniversary of the Furiani stadium disaster, in which 18 people died when a stand collapsed at a Cup semi-final between Bastia and Marseille.
Sunday's other games see Lyon, in fourth, entertain relegation-threatened Brest, while Ajaccio travel to Evian-Thonon-Gaillard.
The remaining games will be played on Monday.
Fixtures (all kick-offs GMT)
Sunday:
Evian v Ajaccio, Lyon v Brest (both 1500), Valenciennes v Paris Saint-Germain (1915)
Monday:
Auxerre v Bordeaux, Lille v Caen, Lorient v Dijon, Saint-Etienne v Marseille, Sochaux v Nancy, Toulouse v Nice (all 1700), Rennes v Montpellier (1900)
Source: AFP
