The French Ligue 1 is back from the 21st of August 2020. The 2019/2020 season ended with Paris Saint Germain as champions and Amiens and Toulouse were relegated from the top flight. Lorient and Lens were subsequently promoted after the French court had initially ruled that the season would proceed with 22 teams including Amiens and Toulouse. However, following a vote by the LFP their relegation was confirmed and the league will consist of 20 teams.
Marseille kick off the season against St-Etienne on Friday the 21st August. Marseille will be looking to build on their second place finish last season but hey must find their feet quickly. They have suffered back to back defeats in their pre-season games against Dunajska Streda and Bayern Munich and that is not a good sign heading into a new season. They should look to make re-enforcements in the transfer window and keep hold of their rising stars to make their title aspirations a reality. St Etienne on the other hand have to improve on their 17 place finish last season. They missed the relegation playoff by only three points so they have to improve on their league performances or risk going down. Marseille will be favorites having a good record against St Etienne having won the previous three encounters and 18 of their previous 31 encounters.
PSG are the favorites after winning the last three editions. Their front three of Neymar, Icardi and Mbappe are one of the deadliest in the world and are toying with teams in the league scoring goals for fun. Due to their Champions League commitments they will not be restarting the season with the rest of the teams. Their first game will be against newly promoted Lens on 29th August. Lens will have a torrid time keeping a clean sheet despite Psg missing the services of Mbappe players like Angel Di Maria are capable of stepping in and causing damage.
Monaco has underperformed since their surprise league title in 2018. Since finishing second after that title winning season they have finished 17th and 9th respectively in the following seasons. They will not participate in European competition this season which is a disappointment for a team of their stature. They have also begun pre-season poorly winning one, losing one and drawing the other. Niko Kovac has replaced Leornado Jardim as the head coach and he has to ensure that they turn their fortunes around and fast or he will be facing pressure from the fans and media. Their first league game is postponed so they will face Metz on 30th August and they should look to re-invest the huge transfer fees they have received over the years to strengthen the squad.
Lyon had a shocking season finishing seventh despite having some of the best players in the league for example Depay, Aouar, Dembele to name a few. These stars are attracting attention from some of Europe’s big hitters like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. They should make plans for their replacements as soon as possible to ensure that they can return to the champions league as soon as possible. They face Dijon in the first league game of the season with their game against Montpellier postponed due to their European commitments.
Lille have again booked their place in the champions league despite losing their talisman Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal. They bought wisely and Victor Osimhen has made a 70 million euros move to Napoli after a brilliant season. They have a tendency to make shrewd acquisitions and that should serve them well this season even if they lose some of their top stars. They begin their league season on 30th August against Reims and they will be looking to have another astounding season.
Reims finished in a Europa League playoff position by being sixth in the league. They should look to strengthen in order to maintain their top six statuses, since their European adventure will cause fatigue to their players. Failure to do so will result in poor run of form as they struggle to keep up with the hectic schedule and this may lead to a relegation fight, something that has happened to many mid table teams that punch above their weight and qualify for Europe. They face Lille in their first game of the season which they will hope to obtain at least a result.
OGC Nice finished 5th booking a Europa group stage spot. Patrick Viera’s charges will be looking to build on last season and book a space in the champions league. Lack of resources compared to their wealthy competitors like Psg and Marseille to name a few mean they must invest wisely and hope luck is on their side as they attempt to book a champions league place. They face Strasbourg in their first game of the season and they will look to continue where they left off.
Bottom of the table teams Nimes, Dijon and St Etienne as well as newly promote sides Lens and Lorient should strive to ensure that they begin the season well. Failure results in them being embroiled in a relegation dog fight that is difficult to be entangled from. It is long and morale draining and keeps the teams under constant pressure to perform. Recruitment should also be smart; splashing the cash on luxury players not ready for the survival fight may prove catastrophic.
The Ligue 1 season may be predictable especially when choosing the eventual champions but maybe a surprise team may arise to challenge the most dominant team in recent history in France.
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