Clermont Foot and Lorient will meet in a near-pointless game in Ligue 1 with just two games left to play as both sides are aiming to finish in the top half of the table and without a possibility of finishing in Europe anymore.
Clermont are coming into this one having put together a stunning run of form that has seen them jump into the top eight as they aim for one of their best-ever finishes in Ligue 1. Clermont have managed to put together 15 wins now, any only those in the top seven have managed to secure more.
The club did, however, lose last time out in a 2-1 loss to Brest away from home. Prior to this, they secured five wins in the previous six games, winning them all by a 2-1 scoreline, besides their 1-0 win over Reims and 2-0 win over Troyes. This also saw Clermont defeat Nice away from home and Lyon at home.
Now, they sit behind Lyon by six points, but with an inferior goals difference, it's near-impossible for them to finish in the top seven, and the club are still 10 behind the European spots, making it mathematically impossible for them to get into these positions.
As for Lorient, they are two places behind Lorient but also sit behind Clermont by just one point. Oddly enough, Lorient sit with 50 goals scored and 50 let in too, as they come into the game with 14 wins and 12 losses on the board.
Lorient have managed to defeat the Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in the past month in the French capital. After that 3-1 win, the club also went on to beat Brest and drew with Montpellier, although they fell back into the win column with a 3-1 loss to Lens at home last weekend.
Although form has been topsy-turvy throughout the entire season for Lorient, they still come into these final two games of the campaign knowing that a top half finish is still well within their own hands.
As it is a near-meaningless game and one that sees two sides merely aim for a top half finish, the game could go either way.
