Montpellier will finish second in Top 14, Biarritz will miss out on the play-offs and La Rochelle will join Bourgoin in being relegated to ProD2 - or that's what might happen anyway.

With just six rounds of matches left to play I felt it was time to don the Mystic Meg guise and have a go at predicting how the Top 14 table may end up on May 7th at the conclusion of this season's fixtures.

Top 14 Fixtures 2010/11

There are, of course, innumerable factors to bear in mind - such as injuries, clashes with international matches, the distraction of European games and loss of form - but below is a table of how Top 14 could look going into the end of season play-offs.

In truth, it is not so different from how the table looks today - after 20 rounds - but there are one or two highly significant changes.

According to my calculations - based on nothing more than a healthy blend of informed knowledge and gut feeling - I reckon Montpellier (undoubtedly this season's surprise outfit) will just do enough over the run-in to sneak into second place and earn themselves a semi-final slot.

Not only have they proved that they have the squad to compete with anyone on their day, they also have a favourable set of fixtures with three of their final six games against teams from the bottom four of the table.

If they perform as calculated - and that is a mighty 'if' I grant you - they would nudge Racing-Mettro 92 down from second to third, with Pierre Berbizier's side having to settle for a quarter-final berth against... Toulon!

Toulon are currently eighth in the league but four of their last six games are at home, where the vociferous support at the Stade Félix Mayol could see them to victories against Bourgoin, Stade Francais, Stade Toulousain and Perpignan.

Should Toulon manage to perform as predicted, along with Castres, that would in turn squeeze Biarritz, Perpignan and Bayonne out of the play-off zone - and perhaps Heineken Cup qualification as well.

Leading scorers in Top 14 2010/11

Down at the other end even my six-month-old son would predict Bourgoin are gonners - although their fall could yet be mightier than one division if their financial situation worsens - so that leaves a three-way battle between Brive, SU Agen and La Rochelle to see who joins them. All three sides have recorded notable victories in recent weeks, and the beauty of this season in France has been its unpredictability.

Given that last sentence it is almost pointless to speculate, but hey, it's just a bit of fun.

Thus, bearing all unpredictability in mind, I believe it will be La Rochelle that ducks back down to ProD2, with Brive and SU Agen surviving to fight another season. There is, however, still plenty of room for upsets and shock results, so given all that I wouldn't rule out the last-day clash between SU Agen and Brive effectively turning into a relegation shoot-out.

As for who will be champions? Well, I've got a sneaky feeling Biarritz will beat Stade Toulousain in their Heineken Cup quarter-final in Spain, paving the way for Guy Noves' side to sugar the pill by lifting their first French title since 2008. But then again, I have been known to get it wrong...

* including five points deducted by the DNACG

Top 14 Run-In Guide, Team by Team

Stade Toulousain (1st, 65 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Brive (h), Racing-Métro (a), Perpignan (a), Toulon (a), Bourgoin (h), Clermont Auvergne (h)
Predicted Points: 16
Predicted Total: 81
Predicted Position: 1st
 

Racing-Métro 92 (2nd, 62 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Biarritz (a), Stade Toulousain (h), Bayonne (a), Perpignan (a), SU Agen (h), Stade Francais (a)
Predicted Points: 16
Predicted Total: 78
Predicted Position: 3rd 

Clermont Auvergne (3rd, 57 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Castres (a), SU Agen (a), Biarritz (h), Stade Francais (a), La Rochelle (h), Stade Toulousain (a)
Predicted Points: 16
Predicted Total: 73
Predicted Position: 4th

Montpellier (4th, 56 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: La Rochelle (a), Stade Francais (h), Bourgoin (a), Bayonne (h), Brive (a), Toulon (h)
Predicted Points: 23
Predicted Total: 79
Predicted Position: 2nd

Castres (5th, 55 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Clermont Auvergne (h), Toulon (h), SU Agen (a), Bourgoin (a), Biarritz (h), Perpignan (a)
Predicted Points: 17
Predicted Total: 72
Predicted Position: 5th

Bayonne (6th, 53 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Perpignan (a), Biarritz (a), Racing-Métro (h), Montpellier (a), Stade Francais (h), La Rochelle (a)
Predicted Points: 11
Predicted Total: 64
Predicted Position: 9th

Biarritz (7th, 53 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Racing-Métro (h), Bayonne (h), Clermont Auvergne (a), Brive (h), Castres (a), Bourgoin (h)
Predicted Points: 15
Predicted Total: 68
Predicted Position: 7th

Toulon (8th, 50 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Bourgoin (h), Castres (a), Stade Francais (h), Stade Toulousain (h), Perpignan (h), Montpellier (a)
Predicted Points: 19
Predicted Total: 69
Predicted Position: 6th

Perpignan (9th, 49 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Bayonne (h), La Rochelle (a), Stade Toulousain (h), Racing-Métro (h), Toulon (a), Castres (h)
Predicted Points: 19
Predicted Total: 68
Predicted Position: 8th

Stade Francais (10th, 44 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: SU Agen (h), Montpellier (a), Toulon (a), Clermont Auvergne (h), Bayonne (a), Racing-Métro (h)
Predicted Points: 13
Predicted Total: 57
Predicted Position: 10th

SU Agen (11th, 33 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Stade Francais (a), Clermont Auvergne (h), Castres (h), La Rochelle (a), Racing-Métro 92 (a), Brive (h)
Predicted Points: 10
Predicted Total: 43
Predicted Position:11th

Brive (12th, 31 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Stade Toulousain (a), Bourgoin (h), La Rochelle (h), Biarritz (a), Montpellier (h), SU Agen (a)
Predicted Points: 12
Predicted Total: 42
Predicted Position: 12th

La Rochelle (13th, 29 pts)

Remaining Fixtures: Montpellier (h), Perpignan (h), Brive (a), SU Agen (h), Clermont Auvergne (a), Bayonne (h)
Predicted Points: 8
Predicted Total: 37
Predicted Position: 13th

Bourgoin (14th, 7 pts*)

Remaining Fixtures: Toulon (a), Brive (a), Montpellier (h), Castres (h), Stade Toulousain (a), Biarritz (a)
Predicted Points: 2
Predicted Total: 7*
Predicted Position: 14th