As the new Ligue 1 season says bonjour on August 8, all eyes will be on two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain as they set out in search of a third-straight French crown. The star-studded Parisians have a roster that is head and shoulders above their competition, who will be scrambling for valuable places directly beneath the champions.
Bayern Munich is in a similar situation in Germany, where it is tipped to dominate again this season. Find our preview of the upcoming Bundesliga season here, as well as our continuing coverage of the MLS regular season, and read on for more on this world-class French league.
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French Ligue 1 Betting Preview and Prediction
Favorite – Paris Saint-Germain
Much like Bayern Munich over in Germany, Paris Saint-Germain are overwhelming -800 favorites to win their third-consecutive league title this season. The Parisians added to their already obscenely-expensive squad by making Brazilian David Luiz the costliest defender in history. He will join Brazilian teammate and captain Thiago Silva at the heart of PSG’s defense.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Their midfield also figures to be very strong, whether manager Laurent Blanc decides to go a formation with three midfielders, as he did for most of last season, or two. With Italians Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta and Frenchmen Yohan Cabaye and Blaise Matuidi, PSG will be spoiled with terrific midfield options.
But up front, there’s no question who’ll be starting: the talented and expensive Edinson Cavani, alongside the much more talented and much more expensive Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swedish striker reigned atop the French goalscoring charts last season with 26 goals, 10 more than his strike partner Cavani or anyone else in the league. With Zlatan firing in the goals, PSG will be the team to beat in France.
High-Value Sleepers – Monaco and Lille
Monaco fans must’ve been licking their lips at the thought that the World Cup’s breakout star, James Rodriguez, would return to lead them in their challenge to dethrone PSG in this upcoming campaign. Alas, Real Madrid came calling and whisked James away from the principality.
The vultures are also circling for Monaco’s other prized Colombian, striker Radamel Falcao. Last year’s second-placed team is still priced at +650 to overtake PSG this season, with stars Joao Moutinho, Dimitar Berbatov and Geoffrey Kondogbia around. But if Falcao follows his countryman away from France, then expect Monaco’s odds to skyrocket instantly.
A Colombian exodus may see Lille step into Monaco’s place as PSG’s biggest title challengers. In 2013-2014, the 2011 champions returned to the top three in their first season under manager Rene Girard. Girard was the mastermind of the underdog Montpellier team that upended PSG’s millions to claim the 2010 title.
Girard’s team is +1,800 to repeat the feat this season. Lille kept hold of Salomon Kalou, their top scorer last season with 16 goals but were forced to sell Divock Origi, who made his mark for Belgium in the World Cup, to Liverpool. Luckily, Girard will still have Origi’s services for this upcoming season on a season loan from the English giants. With these two up front, Lille will have one of the more talented non-PSG strike duos around.
Create a betting account now and grab tons of value on either of these challengers to bring down mighty PSG this season.
Challenging for the Top Three – St. Etienne and Marseille
While PSG is a virtual lock to finish among the top three places, the other two spots are still very much up for grabs. Monaco’s issues were highlighted above, and Lille doesn’t have the established quality in its squad to guarantee success.
Should Monaco and Lille falter, St. Etienne should be primed to step up in their place. Les Verts have improved their position every year under manager Christophe Galtier, from 17th in 2009-10 to fourth last season. Although they don’t have the individual star power of the league’s top tier, Galtier has molded a cohesive unit capable of beating any team on their day.
French giants Marseille do have the talent, and they hope new manager Marcelo Bielsa is able to put it all together this season. L’OM finished a disappointing sixth last season and failed to qualify for European competition for the first time in a decade. That may soon change under Bielsa, who led Chile and Athletico Bilbao to success in his previous managerial stops.
Bielsa won’t have the talented playmaker Mathieu Valbuena, who departed to Dynamo Moscow in the summer, at his disposal, but the Argentine coach will have some talented pieces to work with, including young French hotshot Florian Thauvin.
Key Game
April 3 – Paris Saint-Germain vs. Marseille
The second of the season’s two Le Classique games between bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille will be on April 3. By this time in the season, Bielsa’s team will have been able to adapt to Bielsa’s frenetic system. If L’OM does indeed carry out its manager’s gameplan, the defending champions may actually have to work to leave Marseille’s Stade Velodrome with a win.
Writer’s Prediction
Paris Saint-Germain’s quality and depth just cannot and will not be matched by their closest competitors. Barring any long-term injury to Zlatan, the Ligue 1 title is PSG’s to lose once again.
