Vive la Ligue 1: The Season of Surprises Awaits
Another season goes as a new one arrives in Ligue 1. Paris Saint-Germain are by far the dominant force in French football and they even cemented their dominance on the continental stage by winning the Champions League. From fairy tales to surprises, this is the Ligue 1 preview.
Can anyone challenge PSG’s dominance?
Ever since Qatar Sports Investment took over Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain, they have dominated French football and Ligue 1. They’ve won 11 league titles since 2012/13, with only AS Monaco (2016/17) and Lille (2020/21) being able to stop them. They’ve added 2 key additions in Illia Zabarnyi from Bournemouth and Lucas Chevalier from Lille, signalling a clear intent that they won’t give up their crown easily. What both Zabarnyi and Chevalier offer is strong ball-playing ability in possession whilst having a proactive presence out of possession, particularly from set-piece situations.
There are definitely possible contenders to end their dominance but it looks like a steep task at this stage.
Who are the possible title contenders?
- Olympique Marseille – Under Roberto De Zerbi, they were able to secure Champions League football last season. This summer they have signed Igor Paixão, CJ Egan-Riley, Facundo Medina, Angel Gomes, Timothy Weah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. They’ve added depth and strengthened their core with a mix of established experience and rising potential. Their downfall in a sense last season was defence. To challenge, they must be better in that department.
- AS Monaco – Like Olympique Marseille, they have strengthened after securing Champions League football. Adding names such as Lukaš Hrádecký, Eric Dier, Paul Pogba and Ansu Fati (on loan from Barcelona). Strengthening their core whilst also building on an already strong spine. Something they’ll need to improve on, though, is both the amount they score as well as the amount they let in. Especially going forward, 63 goals across a 34-game league campaign isn’t good enough. They’ll need to increase that amount if they challenge for the title this season.
Who can challenge for the European spots?
You’d expect Lille, OGC Nice, Olympique Lyon and Strasbourg to all be in the mix again. There are also RC Lens and Stade Brestois, who, both without European football this season, could even sneak ahead of the sides who finished above them last season.
Lille – They have lost key players this summer, which include Lucas Chevalier, who has joined PSG as their new no. 1. Bafodé Diakité has also left, joining Bournemouth, whilst both Angel Gomes and Jonathan David left the club on free transfers. Just looking at those names lost, they seem weaker. But they’ve also added to the squad to replace some of them, with Romain Perraud, Arnaud Bodart, Olivier Giroud and Nathan Ngoy among those coming in. The big concern would be goals so the question would be where they come from now. It’s important Giroud has service if he’s the starting no. 9.
OGC Nice – Losing a top goalkeeper in Marcin Bulka doesn’t help but in Yehvann Diouf, they’ve found an excellent replacement. Good scouting to make sure they get near enough similar quality for a bargain fee. Jumah Bah (on loan from Manchester City), Salis Abdul Samed and Isak Jansson are all also solid additions. Under Franck Haise last season, they added to the solid defensive foundation Francesco Farioli laid in 2023/24 by scoring plenty of goals, 66 in 34 Ligue 1 games last season. They’ll want to continue that this season but they’ll definitely want big improvement in Europe.
Olympique Lyon – It’s fair to say they’ve had an interesting summer, to say the least. The threat of relegation to Ligue 2 due to financial problems and needing to sell to raise funds to avoid that, as well as the multi-club ownership issue with Crystal Palace. In terms of signings, the one that is interesting is Tyler Morton from Liverpool. At Hull during 2023/24, we saw his ability and potential at the heart of Liam Rosenior’s midfield. He didn’t play loads last season for Liverpool and has now got a move to Lyon. Paulo Fonseca may see him as that holding defensive midfielder that can bring a calmness and control to games which allows sustained attacking pressure.
RC Lens – They lost Will Still in the summer, who resigned to then join Southampton. They have replaced him with Pierre Sage. It’ll be interesting to see what his ideas, style of play and general influence will be with this RC Lens side. They’ve established themselves in Ligue 1, almost won the title in 2022/23, and played in the Champions League. The aim for them will be clear: returning to European football.
Stade Brestois – The job Eric Roy has done since becoming head coach has been quite incredible. From a bottom-half side that would usually aim for mid-table to going on a European journey in the Champions League last season, where they also made it out of the league phase – an incredible achievement! Whilst it’s not expected that they’ll be in the Champions League places, like RC Lens, the aim will be to get into European football again. With a lighter schedule and what looks like a younger squad too, they’re capable of doing that.
The dark horse to watch out for
Stade Rennais had a disappointing season last season, finishing in the bottom half. They sacked 2 coaches in Julien Stephan and Jorge Sampaoli and with that comes instability. In January they appointed Habib Beye, who was able to steady the ship, which saw them finish 12th. He also implemented an exciting aggressive style which brought Stade Rennais back to life and 2 youngsters that broke through in the 2nd half of last season were Jeremy Jacquet and Mohamed Meite. That trust in youth and the proactive style brings hunger, fire and life into them. They are my dark horse to watch out for.
Who is in danger of relegation?
Havre Athletic Club – They just about survived by the skin of their teeth last season and whilst they have made signings this season such as Ally Samatta, their squad doesn’t look too strong. They’ll need to defend better and get more points to stay clear of the bottom three.
FC Nantes – They only seem to be going backwards in recent times. Whilst they were able to end the season steadily, there were moments throughout the last campaign where they looked in real trouble. Losing a veteran defender in Nicolas Pallois, whose leadership and experience were priceless, does not help.
Metz – They’ve been up and down and up and down and once again up. This is the literal definition of a yoyo club. In a way they are like Sheffield United or Norwich City. Whilst they are known for producing top young talents, the latest one being Idrissa Gueye, the general quality of their squad does not have enough quality to avoid the drop in Ligue 1.
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