Ligue 1 preview: France’s chasing pack have PSG in their crosshairs
Ligue 1 gets back underway this weekend, with Paris Saint-Germain aiming for a third successive title.
After some high-profile exits and some interesting new additions, the French top flight could well be more competitive at the top end than in previous years.
We take a look at the key storylines ahead of the opening game between Nice and Lille on Friday night.
Title challengers
PSG are, unsurprisingly, the favourites to secure what would be a 12th Ligue 1 title.
But their hegemony could be interrupted, with several clubs in good shape to challenge.
The French champions, despite a disjointed and unharmonious feel to the team, managed to finish top last season, just one point ahead of surprise package Lens.
Manager Christophe Galtier was dismissed after failure in the Champions League and he has been replaced with former Barcelona and Spain boss Luis Enrique.
That is a potentially shrewd appointment, although without Lionel Messi — who has left for Inter Miami — and question marks over the futures of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, a rebuild may be required at PSG.
The Mbappé saga could be particularly damaging – he has been linked with a host of clubs and there have been rumours of a possible move to Saudi Arabia.
Amid all of this, the likes of Lens, Marseille, Lyon and Lille might fancy their chances.
PSG ranked second for xG last season (70.21), behind Lyon, and were particularly unconvincing defensively, with an expected goals against of 52.04 bettered by seven other Ligue 1 sides.
Enrique’s side will be the frontrunners again, but they are certainly not untouchable.
The race for Europe
With just three Champions League places, one Europa League and one Europa League Conference place up for grabs, the race for European football in Ligue 1 is always close and competitive.
Plenty of teams will be looking to challenge. Lens, having secured Champions League football for the first time in their history, will want to repeat the feat, while Marseille, Monaco, Rennes and Lille will expect to be in the picture.
Marseille also have a new manager in former Sevilla and Villarreal boss Marcelino, while Monaco have appointed Adi Hütter after his exit from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Lyon will also be aiming to improve on a disappointing seventh-placed finish last term.
Les Gones had the highest xG of any side in Ligue 1 in 2022-23 (70.41) but a mix of wasteful finishing and poor defending proved damaging.
Relegation battlers
Newly-promoted sides Le Havre and Metz are the bookies’ favourites to be relegated back to the second tier.
Four teams were relegated from Ligue 1 last season in order to reduce the total number to 18, so this term only two sides — and potentially one other via the relegation play-off — will go down.
That is good news for those expected to struggle. Late runs of form from Brest and Strasbourg kept them clear of the drop at the end of 2022-23 and they will hope to be more comfortable in mid-table this time around.
Nantes, distracted by their Europa League campaign, only narrowly avoided the drop but should fare better this year.
Le Havre, Ligue 2 champions last season, could struggle for goals, having scored only 46 from an xG of 43.48 last season.
They were exceptional defensively, though, letting in just 19 goals in 38 games, although an xGA of 31.58 suggests that might not be sustainable.
Star men
With Messi gone, Mbappé is very much Ligue 1’s superstar, even if his future seems likely to be elsewhere.
The 24-year-old top scored in the division last season with 29 goals, ranked top for progressive runs (142) and had the most touches in the opposition box (254).
If Mbappé departs, Neymar will be the biggest name at PSG and in Ligue 1, though he was restricted to 20 league appearances last season and has also been linked with a move away.
Elsewhere in the division, Alexandre Lacazette has become one of the league’s top strikers after returning to Lyon from Arsenal, scoring 27 goals last season.
Lille’s Jonathan David was not far behind with 24 goals to his name, and at the age of 23, he has the potential to get even better.
New arrivals
PSG have, unsurprisingly, made some expensive additions to their squad, including defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Sporting CP for €60m.
The 22-year-old ranked second in the Portuguese top flight for successful defensive actions (377) and first for ball recoveries in the opponent’s half (177).
Ugarte will add steel to PSG’s midfield, then, and the arrival of Lucas Hernández from Bayern Munich for €45m should help shore things up at the back.
The champions have also brought in exciting youngster Xavi Simons from PSV, defender Milan Skriniar from Inter on a free transfer and Marco Asensio from Real Madrid.
Marseille, meanwhile, have added a couple of players who will be familiar to English football fans, signing Iliman Ndiaye from Sheffield United and Ismaïla Sarr from Watford.
Elsewhere, Monaco have signed defender Mohammed Salisu from Southampton.
Ones to watch
PSG youngster Warren Zaire-Emery is one of the brightest prospects in French football and could be given more minutes this season as the champions go through something of a transitional phase.
The 17-year-old made 26 appearances in Ligue 1 last season – mostly as a substitute – and caught the eye, winning 4.94 defensive duels per 90 and completing 52.36 passes per 90 with an accuracy of 92.93%.
Away from PSG, Rennes defender Arthur Theate impressed last season and his progress will be interesting to watch.
The 23-year-old completed the fourth-most passes in Ligue 1 (2,285) and was key in his side’s qualification for the Europa League.
He also scored four goals and ranked fourth in the division for shots from headers (17), evidence of his ability to threaten from set-pieces.
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