French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[Jody.Drummer]

I was surprised when I saw the distance of the match in week 16 so far, I mean the match for Paris Saint Germain and Manaco has been held, but for the other matches it will take place in January. I mean why can this happen, because in my opinion they can postpone the first match in week 16 also in January, or they can finish everything this week. Because this can also cause jealousy from other clubs, because of course the schedule will benefit Paris Saint Germain and Monaco for week 17. I also don't see any postponed matches from these 2 clubs, so for me this is just a little strange.

[Palakka]

In Ligue 1, only PSG is still consistent enough in making its squad better every season so that when PSG was left behind by other teams, PSG continued to make changes by relying on the things they had at that time. So the results we can see clearly that PSG's ability to make its squad better is very real and it cannot be matched by its other rivals. Moreover, at this time PSG is already ahead with 10 points, which will be quite difficult for any team in Ligue 1 this season to surpass, so the other teams only hope to be able to occupy second place because first place is no longer possible to achieve.

Literally PSG is one team I see puts in the effort every season to fix their squad and get it some more strength possibly better than it has been the previous season but last season Marseille did made that move against this season and literally the effort did paid off though they aren't exactly where PSG is currently but if they could continue adding some more consistency to it, maybe they would be getting so better they will be at same level soon. It's only that it may take them some more time and by then PSG may have further advanced again.

We all will not know what the future of teams other than PSG in this league 1 will be. As long as some teams are able to bring in professional players, surely competing with PSG will be an easy problem. I am sure that even though PSG dominates league 1, it does not mean that they will not experience bad times and one day PSG will definitely have problems that will have an impact on declining performance. And that's when other teams like Marseille will take over the top of the standings. Currently, there is no other way to continue to maintain consistency in the runner up position every season. And when PSG starts to make mistakes, Monaco or Marseille will find it easier to take the opportunity.

If you are curious about PSG rival teams, on the contrary I am curious about PSG future, because after all they are the most prominent and dominant team in ligue 1, but how can they last for a long time if they continue to fail to get the UCL trophy due to their poor mentality because of the easy competition in Ligue 1 ?

Honestly there will be a time when every star player is reluctant to join PSG, although they have the finances and ability to dominate the domestic league, because after all the UCL trophy is the dream of all footballers in the world so far.

Marseille and Monaco has improved their squad for the better this season, but in fact they still fail to compete with PSG who has lost many of their star players, doesn't that just show that there is no other team that has a winning mentality in Ligue 1 besides PSG at this time?.

[Docnaster]

Indeed, the fact cannot be denied that financial balance and having quality players have indeed made PSG the best club in League 1 and it is difficult for any club to surpass them, although a few years ago Lille was able to break PSG's dominance but that only happened once and after that PSG won the title again in the following seasons and this season I think no one can stop PSG even if it is Marseille, Monaco or Lille because PSG has widened the gap of 10 points from them.

It's been proven time and time again that for a club to actually succeed in modern day football, the club must be financially strong so I'm actually not surprised that Paris Saint Germaine is dominating the French league. The club management have invested hugely in the club since they took over and that's why it seems like the other French teams aren't serious enough like PSG.
Lille like you rightly said broke PSG's dominance but it lasted just one season before the reigning French champions reclaimed their dominance. PSG will continue to dominate the French league till when the other clubs will start investing hugely in signing quality players.

[irhact]

We all will not know what the future of teams other than PSG in this league 1 will be. As long as some teams are able to bring in professional players, surely competing with PSG will be an easy problem. I am sure that even though PSG dominates league 1, it does not mean that they will not experience bad times and one day PSG will definitely have problems that will have an impact on declining performance. And that's when other teams like Marseille will take over the top of the standings. Currently, there is no other way to continue to maintain consistency in the runner up position every season. And when PSG starts to make mistakes, Monaco or Marseille will find it easier to take the opportunity.

While you're praying that PSG will have a bad form or game don't forget that the other clubs might have the same fate waiting for them as they can lose too. PSG will not win all their games as they're going to have some few bad games but still they're always the favourite to win the league and this season they have showed that again by topping the table and I think the reason is as they're the better funded club among all the clubs playing in the french league. PSG is topping the table with 10 points and it'll be very difficult for them to lose 3 games straight while other title contenders won't lose any game and for then Marseille to take over the 1st position.

[Fuso.hp]

Paris Saint Germain is the best team, we have seen this many times. There is no better team in the French league. Lille won the championship in the past years, but PSG never gave this title to another team after that. This team is perfect for young players. This team will be a good place for them to complete their development in the best way. I am sure they will win League 1 this year too.

Indeed, the fact cannot be denied that financial balance and having quality players have indeed made PSG the best club in League 1 and it is difficult for any club to surpass them, although a few years ago Lille was able to break PSG's dominance but that only happened once and after that PSG won the title again in the following seasons and this season I think no one can stop PSG even if it is Marseille, Monaco or Lille because PSG has widened the gap of 10 points from them.

No other club has ever spent as much money as PSG to improve their team's performance. PSG spent money on players but they didn't actually make a profit by selling any players against spending that money. PSG's plans were certainly flawed, if they had hired a quality manager first and spent money as planned to bring quality players into the team, their team performance would have improved. Now there is an experienced manager in the team who has been able to manage Barcelona well for a long time but this manager does not seem to be very active when it comes to buying players. If we can clearly understand the weaknesses in different positions of the team then this manager has understood the weaknesses better but my question is why he is not offering money to any quality player. Let's see how his activities are when the transfer window opens.

[imamusma]

No other club has ever spent as much money as PSG to improve their team's performance. PSG spent money on players but they didn't actually make a profit by selling any players against spending that money. PSG's plans were certainly flawed, if they had hired a quality manager first and spent money as planned to bring quality players into the team, their team performance would have improved. Now there is an experienced manager in the team who has been able to manage Barcelona well for a long time but this manager does not seem to be very active when it comes to buying players. If we can clearly understand the weaknesses in different positions of the team then this manager has understood the weaknesses better but my question is why he is not offering money to any quality player. Let's see how his activities are when the transfer window opens.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi took an instant path to build PSG as a force to be reckoned with in Europe, especially in Ligue 1. So it is not surprising that since 2011, PSG has spent a lot of budget to recruit a number of star players. In Ligue 1, PSG managed to achieve great success by relying on this financial strength, but until this season, they have not been able to achieve success in the Champions League.
After losing Mbappe, PSG seems to have started to change their approach in the transfer market, where Luis Enrique seems not so aggressive in recruiting other star players. I think PSG still needs star players, to make the team reckoned with in the Champions League. In addition, PSG management should start to focus on promoting young academy players every season, this can provide sustainable success and save expenses.

[Velvet78]

PSG will probably go for a new striker signing in January or next summer at worst.    I feel confident about that because Ramos and Kolo Muani couldn't make the expected impact yet. At least one of them will probably leave. It hasn't been much time since Ramos came back from an injury though. Maybe he could be the one staying. But Kolo Muani? He isn't given enough amount of chances recently. I feel like he will be the one leaving.

In his place, they would go for a striker who has proven their scoring skills already. Such as Osimhen, Gyökeres or someone else like them. But I believe they will do this at the end of the day.

[Juse14]

..................

No other club has ever spent as much money as PSG to improve their team's performance. PSG spent money on players but they didn't actually make a profit by selling any players against spending that money. PSG's plans were certainly flawed, if they had hired a quality manager first and spent money as planned to bring quality players into the team, their team performance would have improved. Now there is an experienced manager in the team who has been able to manage Barcelona well for a long time but this manager does not seem to be very active when it comes to buying players. If we can clearly understand the weaknesses in different positions of the team then this manager has understood the weaknesses better but my question is why he is not offering money to any quality player. Let's see how his activities are when the transfer window opens.

I also don't really understand the clubs owned by Middle Eastern businessmen, as if they don't have unlimited money, they continue to recruit star players at fantastic prices, then just let them go. PSG is a team that is quite wasteful almost approaching the competition season, and one more thing PSG is a club that damages market prices, because PSG always makes big offers when they are targeting the players they want. However, if we talk about profits and achievements, yes it can be said that they are a big club with minimal achievements, apart from achievements in the domestic league.

and in my opinion for now, PSG is still not satisfied with the depth of the squad they have, because the players they have have not given satisfactory results, especially in the European arena, where PSG is threatened with being eliminated early in the qualifying round. In addition, after the main star left, their popularity slowly decreased, so for this season they not only have to find players with the best quality, but the players must also have quite high popularity. so let's see, who will be recruited by PSG this summer

[Asiska02]

It's been proven time and time again that for a club to actually succeed in modern day football, the club must be financially strong so I'm actually not surprised that Paris Saint Germaine is dominating the French league. The club management have invested hugely in the club since they took over and that's why it seems like the other French teams aren't serious enough like PSG.
Lille like you rightly said broke PSG's dominance but it lasted just one season before the reigning French champions reclaimed their dominance. PSG will continue to dominate the French league till when the other clubs will start investing hugely in signing quality players.

The modern day football has really shown that only teams that can invest well in good players will have a chance to dominate the league, that we have seen in some clubs in the premier league. Alongside signing of good players, you also need to have a very good coach to be able to put them through that success path, if not, they may still end up not a formidable team. PSG will continue to reign in the French league until we see a big investment in one of the teams playing there, an investment that will make them more stronger and can fight for the league title like them.

This has also shown that the French league which is not that strong like other leagues is because of one team that is dominating it. It is very obvious in the champions league competition when they play there. Smaller teams from other top leagues use to outshine them in the champions league and that shows how not too serious of a league they play with mediocre teams there. Mostly, they don’t stand a chance against big teams in all ramifications in the champions league. They are good as a club, but it seems they need more tough games in the league in order to be stronger when participating in European competitions.

[shogun47]

I also don't really understand the clubs owned by Middle Eastern businessmen, as if they don't have unlimited money, they continue to recruit star players at fantastic prices, then just let them go. PSG is a team that is quite wasteful almost approaching the competition season, and one more thing PSG is a club that damages market prices, because PSG always makes big offers when they are targeting the players they want. However, if we talk about profits and achievements, yes it can be said that they are a big club with minimal achievements, apart from achievements in the domestic league.

and in my opinion for now, PSG is still not satisfied with the depth of the squad they have, because the players they have have not given satisfactory results, especially in the European arena, where PSG is threatened with being eliminated early in the qualifying round. In addition, after the main star left, their popularity slowly decreased, so for this season they not only have to find players with the best quality, but the players must also have quite high popularity. so let's see, who will be recruited by PSG this summer

They don't have unlimited money, but relative to what they have it is not a big problem for them to spend billions over a couple of years. It impacts peoples' perception of Qatar as a country and thereby they increase their options to build out business abroad. I don't know how much they now spent in total, but I think for transfers it is somewhere around 1.5 billion euros and 0.5 billion euros they made from player sales over a period of 10 years. When you now calculate the total value of PSG (the sources are very different about that number), and then deduct what they have paid and what they have gained over the years, it was a good deal.

They bought the club because as Todd Boehly said about Chelsea, they are looking forward to the sports market becoming bigger and bigger. The money involved is increasing and while it looks so weird when PSG spends these enormous sums of money on transfers and salaries, it does pay off for them. Consider the relationship between the Qatar guys and the French government because of themn being the owners of PSG. There are reasons and it is not like they are losing money all the time.

Maybe they consider it a hobby to a certain degree, but the priority is about networking and a presence among ordinary people.

I think QSI once bought the club for 100 million dollars and promised to continue financing the club. But if they had to sell it today, I think they would make serious gains.

[Franctoshi]

PSG will probably go for a new striker signing in January or next summer at worst.    I feel confident about that because Ramos and Kolo Muani couldn't make the expected impact yet. At least one of them will probably leave. It hasn't been much time since Ramos came back from an injury though. Maybe he could be the one staying. But Kolo Muani? He isn't given enough amount of chances recently. I feel like he will be the one leaving.

In his place, they would go for a striker who has proven their scoring skills already. Such as Osimhen, Gyökeres or someone else like them. But I believe they will do this at the end of the day.

This is a very important thing for PSG to do after that they sold Mbappe to Real Madrid, they haven't gotten a good player replacement for Mbappe who will , Therefore , come January 2025 transfer window is indeed a good time for them to enter market.
Ramos is a defender and doesn't have much to offer even looking at his age and playing position.

And for Osimhen,  I think he will be pleased with an offer from the premier league side than considering moving to the French Ligue 1

[jaberwock]

I would say they could try to find some young players that can start and be good, usually that's the most important part, all these superstars came out from somewhere before, and that would only happen if you give them time when they are young. Giving an 18 year old Mbappe time, or 17 year old Yamal time is easy, they are super talented, but finding the role players around them is the hard part, so PSG should try to find more under 20 year old players to play since they guaranteed the league basically, maybe not mathematically, but it's obvious.

PSG's goal should not be to be champions in the league. They do not have a rival in French football anyway, the real goal will be to approach the championship in Europe. Of course, it is very difficult for them to do this, but if they set the right goal and can discover the star players of the coming years, their chances will increase. If there is no suitable opponent for you in your league, you think you are very strong, but the truth is not like that, competition is always good

I think it would be the right manager for that job that could take them there, would be a lot better. Considering Louis Enrique looks like he is not good at UCL situation and doing terrible at the moment, I would say he is not the one. I also think, Pep Guardiola won whatever he can win at Manchester City, and right now most of his players are just not even playing because they are all fed up winning enough and do not want to play to win, they just don't care about winning anymore because they won so much already.

This is why I think it would be a perfect fit to get Pep Guardiola to PSG this summer. It would allow them to restart basically, do whatever he asks to do and eventually they will get to UCL title, like how he did that with City.

[baeva]

We all will not know what the future of teams other than PSG in this league 1 will be. As long as some teams are able to bring in professional players, surely competing with PSG will be an easy problem. I am sure that even though PSG dominates league 1, it does not mean that they will not experience bad times and one day PSG will definitely have problems that will have an impact on declining performance. And that's when other teams like Marseille will take over the top of the standings. Currently, there is no other way to continue to maintain consistency in the runner up position every season. And when PSG starts to make mistakes, Monaco or Marseille will find it easier to take the opportunity.

While you're praying that PSG will have a bad form or game don't forget that the other clubs might have the same fate waiting for them as they can lose too. PSG will not win all their games as they're going to have some few bad games but still they're always the favourite to win the league and this season they have showed that again by topping the table and I think the reason is as they're the better funded club among all the clubs playing in the french league. PSG is topping the table with 10 points and it'll be very difficult for them to lose 3 games straight while other title contenders won't lose any game and for then Marseille to take over the 1st position.

They have one more match than Marseille, but I don't think it makes much difference in a global sense. It's almost halfway through the season and I think it's obvious again that PSG are going to be champions this time too, so I don't think they'll be so badly affected by the wishes of the team's detractors, except in the Champions League, in which they're already doing quite badly.

[bitgolden]

At the league, testing out some younger players for a few games isn't a bad idea. But, you don't do that with all the players, like you put in 2 of them one game, and see how that looks, the best 2 you have, and then maybe the more league continues and they guarantee, you put in another different two, and then another different two, that way, you always have at least 8-9 starters in the game, and 2-3 younger players, and never more.

This would allow them to be still the best team without a doubt, but also have a chance the younger players too. This is a great situation to be in because it allows you to make it work one way or another, it allows you to get a greater result whenever you have some time with it at the same time.

[aylabadia05]

<snip>

While you're praying that PSG will have a bad form or game don't forget that the other clubs might have the same fate waiting for them as they can lose too. PSG will not win all their games as they're going to have some few bad games but still they're always the favourite to win the league and this season they have showed that again by topping the table and I think the reason is as they're the better funded club among all the clubs playing in the french league. PSG is topping the table with 10 points and it'll be very difficult for them to lose 3 games straight while other title contenders won't lose any game and for then Marseille to take over the 1st position.

Ligue 1 belongs to PSG again this season and they have been really strong until now. PSG have collected 40 points in 16 matches in the first half of this season, and they are even unbeaten. PSG dominates Ligue 1 and they always maintain that consistency, but unfortunately PSG always fails in the Champions League. The 7th match will be exciting because PSG will compete against Manchester City in the Champions League, but it's still too long to wait. No team can truly stop PSG's dominance in Ligue 1, which is why it is difficult for anyone to prevent PSG from securing the title every season.

In the match against Monaco that has finished, PSG really proved that they are a strong team by winning the match 2-4. Dembele scored 2 goals, the other 2 goals were scored by Desire Doué and Goncalo Ramos. PSG is also the most productive team in Ligue 1 this season, scoring 44 goals in 16 matches.

[tusandii]

In his place, they would go for a striker who has proven their scoring skills already. Such as Osimhen, Gyökeres or someone else like them. But I believe they will do this at the end of the day.

Last season PSG was also rumored with Victor Oshimen but in fact PSG did not recruit this striker to replace the position left by Mbappe but they instead stuck with the players they had and did not recruit Oshimen because the price tag set by Napoli was too expensive but isn't PSG quite capable of buying Oshimen considering this player is an active striker I hope PSG will really make the reality of recruiting a striker in the transfer market later.

[mammusu]

Ligue 1 is no different like a ladder for them to be able to play in the Champions League, so actually winning the Ligue 1 championship trophy is not their main target all along, PSG has won a lot of Ligue 1 titles in the last few seasons without any strong competition at all, so I think it has made them very comfortable and finally made their mentality untested when facing strong teams in the Champions League, We cannot deny that PSG main target so far is to achieve success in the Champions League, but they cannot realize it if they only rely on a strong squad, but do not have a champion mentality in more competitive competition

I agree with you that the level of competition in the domestic league will affect the competition at a higher level. In Ligue 1 their mentality cannot be formed perfectly because the competition here is not as tight as the competition in other leagues such as the English League, so this is one of the reasons why Ligue 1 teams have difficulty competing in the Champions League. Mentality is very important for a team, because one of the factors that can make a team successful is mentality. If their mentality is not formed well, then it will also affect the achievements they get in big competitions. because in big competitions the pressure will be much greater too.

That is why so far ligue 1 is considered a peasant league that does show the lowest level of competition in European football, Ligue 1 is a less competitive league and it has affected PSG mentality and readiness when facing pressure in big competitions like the champions league, but uniquely we see that currently PSG rival teams that are difficult to compete in ligue 1, precisely are more able to provide resistance in the champions league (Brest, Lille and Monaco) , and I think it happens because of mentality which accustomed to high intensity and situations that demand maximum performance in every their match in ligue 1, especially against big teams like PSG in domestic league.

[Farma]

In his place, they would go for a striker who has proven their scoring skills already. Such as Osimhen, Gyökeres or someone else like them. But I believe they will do this at the end of the day.

Last season PSG was also rumored with Victor Oshimen but in fact PSG did not recruit this striker to replace the position left by Mbappe but they instead stuck with the players they had and did not recruit Oshimen because the price tag set by Napoli was too expensive but isn't PSG quite capable of buying Oshimen considering this player is an active striker I hope PSG will really make the reality of recruiting a striker in the transfer market later.

PSG does have strong finances but it's not just that they have to spend a lot of money like Napoli wants, especially Victor Oshimen is in a position that the team doesn't want at the end of last season.
PSG coach Luis Enrique is not the type who likes to recruit many players, especially expensive players. Luis Enrique tends to take advantage of existing players and make effective purchases. I think Luis Enrique will build the PSG team framework slowly, unlike before when PSG spent a lot of money but did not meet the team's targets.
For now, PSG's front line is not significantly affected by the loss of Mbappe, although the PSG team is still struggling to compete in the Champions League, but this is because overall this team does not have sufficient team strength and I think it's not just the front line that needs to be fixed but all lines.

[Palakka]

In his place, they would go for a striker who has proven their scoring skills already. Such as Osimhen, Gyökeres or someone else like them. But I believe they will do this at the end of the day.

Last season PSG was also rumored with Victor Oshimen but in fact PSG did not recruit this striker to replace the position left by Mbappe but they instead stuck with the players they had and did not recruit Oshimen because the price tag set by Napoli was too expensive but isn't PSG quite capable of buying Oshimen considering this player is an active striker I hope PSG will really make the reality of recruiting a striker in the transfer market later.

PSG does have strong finances but it's not just that they have to spend a lot of money like Napoli wants, especially Victor Oshimen is in a position that the team doesn't want at the end of last season.
PSG coach Luis Enrique is not the type who likes to recruit many players, especially expensive players. Luis Enrique tends to take advantage of existing players and make effective purchases. I think Luis Enrique will build the PSG team framework slowly, unlike before when PSG spent a lot of money but did not meet the team's targets.
For now, PSG's front line is not significantly affected by the loss of Mbappe, although the PSG team is still struggling to compete in the Champions League, but this is because overall this team does not have sufficient team strength and I think it's not just the front line that needs to be fixed but all lines.

Financial strength has been their weapon to conquer ligue 1 so far, although it turns out that it has not been effective for them on conquer more competitive competitions like the UCL so far, I don't see any other problem that prevents PSG from winning the UCL at this time besides mentality, they managed to conquer ligue 1 with a better mentality and squad than other teams, But it is precisely the ease of competition in Ligue 1 that has affected their mentality in the UCL so far, so it is not surprising if they  very difficult to win the UCL, I don't see any problems in their  team framework, because previously they had a great coach and many great players in every line from goalkeepers to dangerous strikers, but what we see, doesn't they also failed to UCL trophies?

[Phoenix Anka]

Indeed, the fact cannot be denied that financial balance and having quality players have indeed made PSG the best club in League 1 and it is difficult for any club to surpass them, although a few years ago Lille was able to break PSG's dominance but that only happened once and after that PSG won the title again in the following seasons and this season I think no one can stop PSG even if it is Marseille, Monaco or Lille because PSG has widened the gap of 10 points from them.

It's been proven time and time again that for a club to actually succeed in modern day football, the club must be financially strong so I'm actually not surprised that Paris Saint Germaine is dominating the French league. The club management have invested hugely in the club since they took over and that's why it seems like the other French teams aren't serious enough like PSG.
Lille like you rightly said broke PSG's dominance but it lasted just one season before the reigning French champions reclaimed their dominance. PSG will continue to dominate the French league till when the other clubs will start investing hugely in signing quality players.

The only dominant force in the French league will be Paris Saint-Germain. Because no other French team can provide these conditions financially. Paris Saint-Germain is a team that is economically strong enough to buy any player it wants. That's why their championship is almost guaranteed. There may be teams that can beat them, but at the end of the year, the champion will still be Paris Saint-Germain.