Ten clubs are battling to avoid relegation in Ligue 1 this season | Ligue 1

When Ligue 1 clubs voted for the division to be lowered from 20 to 18 groups, a handful of them had been successfully voting for extra relegation battles. With solely 15 clubs now sure to survive, many are feeling the strain of Europe’s tightest relegation battle. They could also be questioning the knowledge of their choice.

A transparent divide is growing in Ligue 1 this season: the highest eight and the remainder. Reims, in eighth, are 5 factors above Nantes in ninth. While Will Still’s facet are aiming for Europe, Nantes are simply eight factors away from bottom-club Lyon. Approaching the midpoint of the season, 10 clubs are fearing the league’s rising tides.

The condensed backside half of the desk is partly defined by the robust begins made by the newly promoted clubs. Le Havre and Metz (the one membership to vote in opposition to the discount of the highest flight in 2021) have succeeded thanks to pragmatic types, neatly balanced squads and having dependable, skilled gamers. The centre-back Ismaël Traoré guided Angers by eight seasons in the highest flight; he’s now doing the identical with Metz on the age of 37. Daler Kuzyaev joined Le Havre on a free switch from Zenit St Petersburg in the summer time and is proving to be one of many signings of the season. He brings Champions League-level expertise, management and high quality not normally obtainable to a promoted facet.

The promoted clubs have stored religion with their finest performers from Ligue 2, made sensible signings from different leagues and, most creditably, continued to prioritise youth. Centre-back Arouna Sangante (21) and attacker Josué Casimir (22) are aiming to comply with Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet as main alumni of Le Havre’s famed academy. At Metz, the spectacular midfielder Lamine Camara (19), who will quickly be the topic of serious switch curiosity, has adopted Sadio Mané and Pape Matar Sarr from the prolific Senegalese feeder membership Generation Foot. Le Havre and Metz are not secure – they sit in eleventh and twelfth, respectively – however they’ve been constant, aggressive and must be assured of survival.

Their excellence has helped endanger final season’s upstarts. Clermont completed eighth final season, a monumental achievement for a membership that has spent a lot of its existence in the decrease leagues. Their success was based mostly on shrewd scouting, a robust defence, the imaginative and prescient of midfielder Johan Gastien and the work of their energetic attackers. However, the departure of centre-back Mateusz Wieteska to Cagliari has been damaging and Gastien, son of coach Pascal, is now pushing 36. Clermont confirmed their avenue smarts in a battling draw with Lille this weekend – and so they additionally held PSG earlier in the marketing campaign – however they are second backside having scored simply 9 objectives all season.

Lorient make up the underside three. After 11 video games final season, they had been second in the desk, having been powered up the league by midfield creator Enzo Le Fée and highly effective striker Terem Moffi. The membership had taken a bet on the untested younger coach Régis Le Bris and it was paying off. But they slumped after Christmas and completed tenth.

The drop has continued this season. Moffi and Le Fée had been bought in the summer time for a mixed €43m and, with the membership unable to reinvest a lot of that cash, they struggled to discover worthy replacements. They have received simply two of their first 15 video games this season however Le Bris stays a wise operator – as he proved in these victories, in opposition to Lille and Rennes, and in a 2-2 draw with Monaco. Relegation could be surprising – in addition to disastrous.

Toulouse have loved two spectacular nights this 12 months however they are additionally in hazard of taking place. Their 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Europa League final month was maybe the second finest outcome in their historical past after their 5-1 thrashing of Nantes in the Coupe de France last in April. Both outcomes present their potential, however their house owners’ strict reliance on information is just not all the time useful. The summer time sacking of Philippe Montanier, knowledgeable by statistical projections, was weird after they’d received the cup and completed thirteenth in the desk as a newly promoted group.

The appointment of the untested Spaniard supervisor Carlos Martínez Novell is but to work out, though he’s coping with the lack of his total beginning midfield totally free (even when Stijn Spierings has since returned on mortgage). Continuing to unearth low cost expertise, similar to passer extraordinaire Branco van den Boomen, who left for Ajax, was going to be difficult. If Toulouse go down, they are going to be blaming themselves moderately than the trimmed desk.

Lyon’s 3-0 win over Toulouse this weekend may seem routine, but it surely was something however. It was simply Lyon’s second victory of the marketing campaign and so they stay backside. Their plight exhibits how troublesome Ligue 1’s competitiveness will be when mixed with a membership’s incompetence – as Bordeaux and Saint Étienne, who’ve received 16 league titles between them, found once they had been relegated final 12 months.

Lyon’s place is a results of monetary strife, public infighting, erratic decision-making and weak recruitment. But they nonetheless maintain extra hope than most, largely thanks to Alexandre Lacazette. The former Arsenal striker scored a hat-trick in opposition to Toulouse, taking his report to 43 objectives or assists in 51 video games since his return final 12 months. Lyon are nonetheless with out a supervisor after Fabio Grosso’s sacking and so they have a skinny squad, low morale and are not hardened to relegation battles.

Montpellier, Strasbourg, Nantes and Rennes are additionally in hazard of taking place. The change to 18 clubs in the highest flight makes getting out of Ligue 2 more and more troublesome. With the trapdoor nearer than ever, many followers might really feel that, in hindsight, by voting for the brand new format, clubs contributed to their very own downfalls.

Talking factors

Reducing the scale of Ligue 1 and eradicating the Coupe de la Ligue from the calendar had been partly carried out to assist French clubs in Europe. Six certified for Europe this season and 5 of them go into their last group video games this week sure to be in Europe after Christmas. Four of the clubs might but prime their teams. Lens, the one membership in hazard of falling out of European competitors, will attain the Europa League in the event that they draw at dwelling to Sevilla this week. Given Ligue 1’s waning coefficient and powerful shows from rivals in the Netherlands and Portugal, collective efficiency is lengthy overdue and desperately wanted with that fourth Champions League spot in the steadiness.

The centre-back Abakar Sylla scored a 97th-minute winner as Strasbourg beat Le Havre 2-1 on Sunday, their first win since September. Strasbourg climbed to tenth in the desk however stay simply 5 factors above the drop zone in what has been a disappointing marketing campaign. It was hoped that Chelsea’s help and a few thrilling signings would propel Patrick Vieria’s facet into European competition. However, his operate fashion has not helped a younger squad, even by French requirements – €53m was spent on 4 20-year-olds this summer time – produce outcomes. Their performances are bettering slowly so preserve an eye fixed out for Strasbourg in 2024.