Daily Times

The one-sided Ligue 1 title race could end on Saturday, with Paris Saint-Germain needing only a draw at home against Angers to clinch a record-extending 13th crown.

PSG’s massive 21-point lead means it would have to lose the next seven games and Monaco win them all to overtake the Parisians, who are unbeaten in 27 league games.

PSG could finish the league campaign unbeaten, although coach Luis Enrique’s side still has to play Nice and has a tricky match away to Strasbourg, with both opponents locked in a tight battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

This season’s Champions League, too, is in Luis Enrique´s thoughts.

With a quarterfinal first-leg match against Aston Villa coming up in Paris on Wednesday, PSG can afford to rest several key players against Angers. Coach Alexandre Dujeux’s side is 14th and has lost four straight league games without scoring a goal, conceding 11.

However, Enrique is not fond of squad rotation so may field close to a full-strength team at Parc des Princes.

It is hard to see how, given that PSG has not dropped any points since a 1-1 draw at home to Reims on Jan. 25, winning eight straight games.

A glimmer of hope for PSG’s remaining opponents is that the team starts slowly and is prone to conceding early goals.

PSG fell behind early against Saint-Etienne last weekend, and it trailed 2-0 within 27 minutes to second-tier Dunkerque in the French Cup semifinal on Tuesday. PSG ended up winning both matches and scoring 10 goals in the process, but there is still a significant weakness against set-pieces and crosses.

One of the biggest success stories this season has been Strasbourg’s remarkable rise to sixth place under English coach Liam Rosenior.

Even more so considering it is his first season, and that he had only two weeks of preseason preparation with his new players.

Led by striker Emanuel Emegha (12 goals), the Alsace-based side has lost only once in the past 14 league games to join the chase for a Champions League spot.

Rosenior’s team is on a four-game winning run heading into Sunday´s trip to play relegation-threatened Reims. It is one point behind fourth-place Nice and three behind third-place Marseille, with the top four qualifying.

“I will never stop my players dreaming,” Rosenior said about making the Champions League. “Of course it’s possible.”

He’ll find out soon enough.

Strasbourg has back-to-back games against Nice and Monaco this month and, with the race so tight, may need to beat PSG on May 4.

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi was fuming with his players after last Saturday’s 3-1 loss at struggling Reims.

So was midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who questioned the attitude of his teammates.

With good reason, as Marseille’s third straight defeat allowed Monaco to move into second place.

But De Zerbi may want to look a bit deeper. Perhaps he should not have allowed his players to get so carried away when, after beating Lyon 3-2 in February, they embarked on a lap of honor and posed for a giant team photo as if they’d won a trophy.

Marseille has lost four out of seven games since. Fans will be looking for a home win against Toulouse on Sunday.