Ligue 1 Matchweek 1 – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

One of Europe’s fiercest and toughest leagues returns as the commences this Friday. Monaco open proceedings, looking to emulate their success of last term, finishing third in the standings. They face Nantes, who just about survived last season through the play-offs, beating Toulouse via a penalty shootout.

All eyes will also be on Paris Saint-Germain, who missed out on the league title last year, as they face the new boys on the block, Troyes. With the first of Europe’s top five leagues returning, let’s get straight down to the nitty-gritty.

Monaco v Nantes (Friday)

Monaco fought hard and were rewarded for their efforts last season, finishing in third spot behind Paris Saint-Germain and league title holders, Lille. Monaco finished the campaign strongly and will be hoping to learn from their wrongs, which could have seen them reduce the gap at the top to perhaps break the top two again. Nantes are in the league by luck. They weren’t entirely great against Toulouse in the relegation/promotion play-offs but got over the line via a penalty shootout. Monaco turned their home stadium into a fortress last season, losing just two of their 19 matches played.

Lyon v Brest (Saturday)

Lyon have bounced back to being the team we’ve known them to be over the past couple of years, moving back into the top four last season. Lyon had scored the second-highest number of goals in Ligue 1, netting 81 times in 38 games, which was five off the mark of Paris Saint-Germain. Brest finished a point above the relegation zone last season, and based on their recruitment this term, they could be down the bottom order again this coming year.

Troyes v PSG (Saturday)

will be looking to go one better this season and reclaim their league title in what will be Mauricio Pochettino’s first full campaign with the Parisians. With many of their players going all the way with their national teams, PSG will be without the likes of . Troyes won Ligue 2 last term, relying on their superb home form to get them over the line, losing just one of their 19 matches.

Rennes v Lens (Sunday)

Rennes and Lens will renew their rivalry this Sunday as they look to build on their impressive run last season. The two sides finished sixth and seventh respectively and will be striving to break into the top four possibly. The hosts had one of the best defences in the league last season, while Lens had a decent away record, losing just six of their 19 matches.

Nice v Reims (Sunday)

Nice finished last season very encouragingly to solidify their spot in the top half, finishing in ninth place. It’s been onwards and upwards for the hosts and they’ll be hoping to get their campaign off to the perfect start against Reims, who struggled for consistency last term. The visitors couldn’t break into double figures in terms of the number of games they have won, winning just nine of their 38 games played.

Saint-Etienne v Lorient (Sunday)

Saint-Etienne kick off their season with a low-profile affair as they host Lorient on Sunday. Both teams come off a very disappointing season where they finished 11th and 16th respectively. Interestingly, the hosts didn’t make any top signings despite finishing in the bottom half of the previous campaign. However, the club managed to hold on to star player Lucas Gourna-Douath who was heavily linked to Chelsea. On the other side, Lorient made some interesting additions to their squad, signing two players and having five loan returnees. The visitors conceded 68 goals last season and they addressed that by bringing in a new goalkeeper, two fullbacks, a central midfielder and one centre back.

Bordeaux vs Clermont Foot 63 (Sunday)

Bordeaux will start the season with a favourable fixture as they welcome newcomers Clermont Foot to the Matmut Atlantique stadium. The six-time Ligue 1 champions will be expected to wipe the floor against last season’s Ligue 2 runners up. Clermont Foot will play top-flight football for the very first time in their history. The visitors are popular for becoming the first European football club to appoint a female coach, Corinne Diacre, to manage the men’s first team in 2014.

Strasbourg v Angers (Sunday)

Strasbourg just about survived last season, finishing the campaign in 15th spot, which was two points off relegation. There were very few positives for the hosts last season, who had a disastrous home record, losing 10 of their 19 games played at their turf. Angers finished two points and two places above Strasbourg, but had it not been for a dismal end to the campaign, they could have finished a lot higher. For me, the visitors are slightly more fancied in this tie.

Metz vs Lille (Sunday)

Metz scraped their top-half finish last term, finishing one point above Saint-Etienne to seal 10th spot. The hosts kick-start their season with a clash against the defending champions, Lille, who bulldozed their way to success last term. Lille had the best defence in the division, conceding just 23 goals in 38 matches, while they also lost just three times all season. Metz don’t have the firepower to cause a necessary threat to the champions of France.

Montpellier v Marseille (Sunday)

Montpellier will host Marseille in the first game of the season. The hosts finished eighth in Ligue 1 last season, six points behind Marseille who finished in fifth. In the teams’ last meeting they played out to a 3-3 draw. With Montpellier being at home and with the return of the fans to football it should make it quite a hostile atmosphere and they should make it quite a difficult encounter.