French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[Swordsoffreedom]

Consistency is key for every team to record success at the end of every given season no matter the status of the club and the league they play in consistency always bring the results PSG is no exception. PSG have a good advantage in the title race this season but only if they can maintain consistency will they finish as champions at the end of the season. Kudos to the entire team for winning the league cup, I hope they can finish the season in same fashion.

Is it very difficult to win the Ligue 1 title? We often call Ligue 1 the Farmers League because there are very few strong and big teams in Ligue 1. The richest and most powerful club in Ligue 1 is PSG. Every season, PSG forms the strongest squad. And Ligue 1 is dominated by PSG.

But you are right that if you want to be champions, it is very important to maintain a good performance. If you cannot maintain a good performance, it will be very difficult to dominate Ligue 1 and win the title. But personally, I don't think it will be difficult for PSG to become the Ligue 1 champion this season. PSG's overall performance is stable this season.

I would say that Luis Enrique should now focus on the Champions League. PSG's long-term target is to do well in the Champions League. But PSG's performance on the Champions League platform is very irregular.

[Frankolala]

I think PSG is still going to win the League title this season ahead of the two teams you mentioned, PSG stands a better chance of increasing their points as they have the best team in the league so even though Monaco and Marseille who are following team in positions is doing well PSG will still increase their gap before the end of the season. Coming to the champions league the squad of PSG team is not doing well because they have a lot of inexperienced players playing in the champions I think they stand a better chance of winning the league more than the champions League competition.

Like PSG I have no doubts about PSG winning the domestic league title but I always have doubts about doing well in the big tournaments. They are at the top of the points table in the local league and they are gradually increasing their points and PSG is more likely to get full points in the upcoming matches so it is certain that PSG is going to win the France League title this season. PSG fans may not be able to properly celebrate just winning the France League title because they are used to it so I think they would be more than happy to be presented with a new trophy. Yes I am talking about the Champions League, I know the Champions League tournament is very difficult but if the right plan, the right players are included in the team then this difficult task can be done. 
Hopefully PSG will plan on these issues for the next season.

Yes, as we are talking about this season, the one that dominates the top of the French League is PSG. There is no other team that can beat PSG at the top of the French League standings, even though they are at the bottom followed by Monaco and Marseille, they also cannot catch up with the points that PSG has collected. There is high hope that PSG will to become champion in the French League at the end of the season.
I agree with you that only the French League and Domestic League can be achieved by PSG, whereas in the European League it seems to be a burden with big teams from all leagues so PSG's steps to qualify for the next round I doubt it.

Personally, I will say that Ligue 1 is strictly for PSG because no club have been able to conquer them and win the league. The have won it over and over again as if it's their birth rite. I don't know why other clubs in Ligue 1 cannot take the challenge and improve their teams to be as strong as PSG. They don't need to buy big players. At least, they can get good young players with great potentials to strengthen their teams.

[CageMabok]

Yes, as we are talking about this season, the one that dominates the top of the French League is PSG. There is no other team that can beat PSG at the top of the French League standings, even though they are at the bottom followed by Monaco and Marseille, they also cannot catch up with the points that PSG has collected. There is high hope that PSG will to become champion in the French League at the end of the season.
I agree with you that only the French League and Domestic League can be achieved by PSG, whereas in the European League it seems to be a burden with big teams from all leagues so PSG's steps to qualify for the next round I doubt it.

In the Champions League, it is still appropriate to doubt PSG this season because PSG's performance there is still far from satisfactory. But in Ligue 1, it is quite clear that PSG is still very strong compared to other candidates, only a team as big as PSG should be able to get something more because trophies like Ligue 1 are very common for them every season. So PSG must be able to improve themselves outside Ligue 1 so that the team is not underestimated by rivals from other Leagues when playing in competitions like the Champions League.

[Fuso.hp]

Some of their friends, attribute PSG's wins in league to the wealth of the club owner. I agree, none of the other French clubs can access this amount of funds, and it has changed the game. But in European and world games, this is not the case, and teams with great wealth and stars face this team, who perform better in the management departments, both on the ground and at the top level of club management, and have more history and experience in these cups.

If any other team in their league spent as much money as PSG spends, they would have better competition in the league tournament. It must be a big failure for PSG if the league title is lost after spending so much money and keeping such quality players at the club. PSG has been singlehandedly winning the domestic league title for the past few seasons so this season too I think they will have no problem winning the domestic league title. PSG first entered into negotiations to bring Neymar to their club at a high price, then they signed many big stars but most of their deals failed. Now this team does not have big star players but this club will definitely try to strengthen their team again in the coming seasons. Because unless this team is strong, they have no chance of doing well in the Champions League.

[Palakka]

~snip~

PSG dominance in Ligue 1 has created an imbalance in the competition, so that in the end it has actually reduced the selling value and broadcasting rights of the teams in ligue 1so far, with easier competition for a team (PSG) of course we as spectators who want excitement in football competition will not be able to get it in ligue 1, to be honest, I am personally quite curious what supposing PSG played in the EPL, whether they would also be great like in ligue 1 so far later?
I think, it seems that it is not only the lack of competition that makes it difficult for investors to invest in ligue 1 so far, but it seems that there is something that makes it difficult for big investors who want to invest in  other clubs apart from PSG so far and we don't know what it is.

Just imagine and think about PSG if they didn't have a rich owner from Qatar to feed this team. The main reason for PSG to have better results is their owner and the money he pays for his team otherwise we could see a balanced situation in the French League and other teams would be in the same situation as PSG but right now and because of the money they spent so far for PSG, they have got much better players and coaches which helped this team a lot.
For example, I remember in the past Lyon and Marseille were two strong teams that were running for the title but after PSG got rich, these two teams were losing the race and Lyon was even about to get relegated.

Honestly I can't imagine it, even if PSG play in the EPL maybe their fate will not be different from the fate of newcastle which is also a rich team but it is difficult to become a title contender in the EPL .
After being taken over by Qatar Sport Investment in 2011, Since then, PSG has been transformed into a strong and dominating team in the domestic league, the transfer of club ownership and also massive spending by PSG has changed the face of ligue 1 which was previously competitive to become a peasant league like today, previously PSG was like any other team and even before 2011 they were not the favourite team to be championship, because at that time monaco, marseille, nantes and saint Etienne were the most successful team in ligue 1.

[bitgolden]

This has been the kryptonite for PSG for many years now. They always try to do as well as they possibly could normally at league, and most of the time they do win the league as well. However, they always end up being bad at UCL and I have absolutely no idea why they are worse. This isn't about just not winning, of course it is normal not to win UCL because you face so many great teams, but it's also about how they are playing worse at UCL than they play at league, if only they played literally the same at UCL as they do at league, they would have been at finals last year for example, or be better this season.

The problem isn't about how they are not winning, it's about how they suddenly become so much worse at UCL, they need to figure out the reason for that, even though they changed many managers along the way, they are still worse, so it is not about managers, they changed players too, so it is not about players neither, it is something else.

[Awaklara]

This has been the kryptonite for PSG for many years now. They always try to do as well as they possibly could normally at league, and most of the time they do win the league as well. However, they always end up being bad at UCL and I have absolutely no idea why they are worse. This isn't about just not winning, of course it is normal not to win UCL because you face so many great teams, but it's also about how they are playing worse at UCL than they play at league, if only they played literally the same at UCL as they do at league, they would have been at finals last year for example, or be better this season.

The problem isn't about how they are not winning, it's about how they suddenly become so much worse at UCL, they need to figure out the reason for that, even though they changed many managers along the way, they are still worse, so it is not about managers, they changed players too, so it is not about players neither, it is something else.

maybe related to their mentality. PSG can play well and very strong in Ligue 1, even always dominating. They have high confidence to win the match in Ligue 1, but when at UCL and facing a team with good quality players, they play with pressure. the competition between each team in UCL will definitely be different when they compete in Ligue 1. This competition between teams that they may not get in the league. if Ligue 1 is more competitive, maybe PSG can also develop and start to get used to the pressure of the game like in UCL.

[Jody.Drummer]

Yes, as we are talking about this season, the one that dominates the top of the French League is PSG. There is no other team that can beat PSG at the top of the French League standings, even though they are at the bottom followed by Monaco and Marseille, they also cannot catch up with the points that PSG has collected. There is high hope that PSG will to become champion in the French League at the end of the season.
I agree with you that only the French League and Domestic League can be achieved by PSG, whereas in the European League it seems to be a burden with big teams from all leagues so PSG's steps to qualify for the next round I doubt it.

In the Champions League, it is still appropriate to doubt PSG this season because PSG's performance there is still far from satisfactory. But in Ligue 1, it is quite clear that PSG is still very strong compared to other candidates, only a team as big as PSG should be able to get something more because trophies like Ligue 1 are very common for them every season. So PSG must be able to improve themselves outside Ligue 1 so that the team is not underestimated by rivals from other Leagues when playing in competitions like the Champions League.

7 points is the gap created by Paris Saint Germain as the leader of the standings with the club in second place which is currently occupied by Marseille. 7 points is quite a distance because Paris Saint Germain is leading, so in my opinion that distance is quite comfortable for them. With all the inconsistencies that occur in other clubs in Ligue 1, I am not sure there is a club that can catch up. The possibility is still there, but the possibility is very small in my opinion. This also requires great luck, because after all it is very difficult to catch up with a superior club like Paris Saint Germain.

[Mame89]

Yes, as we are talking about this season, the one that dominates the top of the French League is PSG. There is no other team that can beat PSG at the top of the French League standings, even though they are at the bottom followed by Monaco and Marseille, they also cannot catch up with the points that PSG has collected. There is high hope that PSG will to become champion in the French League at the end of the season.
I agree with you that only the French League and Domestic League can be achieved by PSG, whereas in the European League it seems to be a burden with big teams from all leagues so PSG's steps to qualify for the next round I doubt it.

In the Champions League, it is still appropriate to doubt PSG this season because PSG's performance there is still far from satisfactory. But in Ligue 1, it is quite clear that PSG is still very strong compared to other candidates, only a team as big as PSG should be able to get something more because trophies like Ligue 1 are very common for them every season. So PSG must be able to improve themselves outside Ligue 1 so that the team is not underestimated by rivals from other Leagues when playing in competitions like the Champions League.

PSG has indeed monopolized the French League for several years, so it is not surprising that they always dominate the French League every season even though some star players have left, but that does not make them weak because the foundation has been applied from season to season. Even though many of their star players have left, their squad remains luxurious compared to their rivals in the French League. This is the same as the Bundesliga a few seasons ago which was always dominated by Bayern Munich, even for 11 seasons they dominated the Bundesliga, the only difference is that Bayern Munich is also successful in this UCL league, unlike PSG who always fails in the UCL league.

This season PSG also finds it very difficult to qualify for the play-off round, especially since they will face Man City who are currently slowly starting to rise after previously slumping. If PSG loses to Man City PSG's hopes in the UCL will be gone, this will be a tough task for Enrique this season. In the end I want to say that PSG every season is always comfortable in the French League but not in the Champions League.

[Velvet78]

PSG have a really comfortable game ahead. It is against Saint-Étienne home this Sunday. 

I don't expect any surprising result to occur. Another win should come easily. PSG have quite much luxury in the league these days because they are in a great position now. The gap with the closest follower (which is Marseille) is currently 7 points. The other teams are trying their best but can't match PSG at the end of the day. It would be another season with a league trophy for Luis Enrique. But what will they do in the Champions League? They are in a really problematic condition. While there are 2 games left in league phase, we see them even out of the playoffs area.

[Lida93]

Some of their friends, attribute PSG's wins in league to the wealth of the club owner. I agree, none of the other French clubs can access this amount of funds, and it has changed the game. But in European and world games, this is not the case, and teams with great wealth and stars face this team, who perform better in the management departments, both on the ground and at the top level of club management, and have more history and experience in these cups.

You are not far from the truth, the financial power of any football club determines how well the team will perform, because you need money to bring in the right coaching crew, the best players and also in terms of maintenance of club's facilities it is money that is used to facilitate all of these things and that's why no other club has been able to match PSG in terms of competition in French football for the last decade.

 It would take more than good team to actually dethrone PSG, it would require a financially buoyant club with a steady source of income to compete against PSG, some decades ago during the era of Olympique Lyonais, it took PSG a great deal of financial investment from their Qatari owner to establish PSG not only as French giants but also as one of Europe's elite club so we can apparently attribute PSG's success to the lots of money at their disposal.

[Zlantann]

Yes, as we are talking about this season, the one that dominates the top of the French League is PSG. There is no other team that can beat PSG at the top of the French League standings, even though they are at the bottom followed by Monaco and Marseille, they also cannot catch up with the points that PSG has collected. There is high hope that PSG will to become champion in the French League at the end of the season.
I agree with you that only the French League and Domestic League can be achieved by PSG, whereas in the European League it seems to be a burden with big teams from all leagues so PSG's steps to qualify for the next round I doubt it.

In the Champions League, it is still appropriate to doubt PSG this season because PSG's performance there is still far from satisfactory. But in Ligue 1, it is quite clear that PSG is still very strong compared to other candidates, only a team as big as PSG should be able to get something more because trophies like Ligue 1 are very common for them every season. So PSG must be able to improve themselves outside Ligue 1 so that the team is not underestimated by rivals from other Leagues when playing in competitions like the Champions League.

In the UCL PSG has seven points in five matches and if they fail to win the two remaining games they will be out of the competition. Sadly, this is not the time when knockout clubs would move to the Europa Cup. This time they will be out of all European competitions. This might be the final season of Louis Enrique if they end up being knocked out at the first stage of the Champions League. We all know that they are the dominating force in the French League, hence winning it doesn't count as success, especially for the management of the club.

[Weawant]

maybe related to their mentality. PSG can play well and very strong in Ligue 1, even always dominating. They have high confidence to win the match in Ligue 1, but when at UCL and facing a team with good quality players, they play with pressure. the competition between each team in UCL will definitely be different when they compete in Ligue 1. This competition between teams that they may not get in the league. if Ligue 1 is more competitive, maybe PSG can also develop and start to get used to the pressure of the game like in UCL.

I don't think it's any news again that the competition in ligue 1 is such that doesn't encourages enough competition amongst the teams in the league such that they don't get to cope well beyond their domestic league and a typical example has been with PSG who stands to be onr of the top teams in the league but turns out weak out there when playing against top Europe teams away from the ligue 1 and so they have their confidence and dominance mostly in the French league more than they do anywhere. But then talking about developing that strength and spirit of been a strong contender,  I feel PSG shohave developed it by now considering they have been so experienced in the UCL with their regular appearances.

[Juse14]

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

Their owners are one of the reasons, if we compare it with what is happening now in the Saudi pro league for example, they also bring in players with very high prices and also high salaries, this is a picture that the financial power of the Arab kings is indeed strong, including the current owner of Paris Saint Germain. This is an advantage that the Arab princes have, whether because if you think about it, it is a difficult thing to do. However, their business owners know what the next steps are, so their financial management is very good, even though they spend a lot of money, it does not have much effect on their finances.

Factors that other clubs in France do not have. If PSG releases its players for free, then re-signs players at high prices, unlike other clubs, they have to sell their players, even their best players, in order to make a profit for the club, so that the club's financial condition remains stable.

This has been the kryptonite for PSG for many years now. They always try to do as well as they possibly could normally at league, and most of the time they do win the league as well. However, they always end up being bad at UCL and I have absolutely no idea why they are worse. This isn't about just not winning, of course it is normal not to win UCL because you face so many great teams, but it's also about how they are playing worse at UCL than they play at league, if only they played literally the same at UCL as they do at league, they would have been at finals last year for example, or be better this season.

The problem isn't about how they are not winning, it's about how they suddenly become so much worse at UCL, they need to figure out the reason for that, even though they changed many managers along the way, they are still worse, so it is not about managers, they changed players too, so it is not about players neither, it is something else.

The ambition of the PSG club owner is very high, where he not only wants to build the best club in the French or European leagues, but he wants to be the best club in the world, and this is what makes PSG continue to recruit quality and expensive players. As you said, let alone being the best club in the world, just being able to conquer the champions league is quite difficult. And one thing that makes PSG continue to fail in the hunt for the champions league title is that they are unable to adapt well and carry the dominance they had when they were at a higher level.

[rahmad2nd]

~~

maybe related to their mentality. PSG can play well and very strong in Ligue 1, even always dominating. They have high confidence to win the match in Ligue 1, but when at UCL and facing a team with good quality players, they play with pressure. the competition between each team in UCL will definitely be different when they compete in Ligue 1. This competition between teams that they may not get in the league. if Ligue 1 is more competitive, maybe PSG can also develop and start to get used to the pressure of the game like in UCL.

IMO, there are many factors that make it difficult for PSG to compete in the Champions League. We don't need to argue when they compete in Lique 1, they even have a high probability of retaining their title. It could be that mentality is one of the things that makes PSG struggle in the Champions League, yes, as you said. But I see it more than that, there are many factors that make it difficult for PSG to become a strong challenger in the Champions League. Actually, we often discussed it on previous occasions, such as when PSG was handled by previous coaches. Well, the role of the coach, players who are not balanced in several lines, such things also make this team not as strong as elite teams from outside the French League. For example, when handled by the coach before Enrique, PSG tended to rely on the MNM trio. They are sharp in the front line, but their midfielders are not creative. The system and strategy also have an effect, especially teamwork, such things also make it difficult for PSG to compete competitively across competitions. Like this season for example, in Lique 1 they are tough and productive, but not for the Champions League.  under Enrique PSG is actually much better in my opinion, unfortunately it seems Enrique is not satisfied with his current squad. the problem is, they do not have a pure striker to be a goal scoring machine in his team. maybe if Enrique still stays or his contract is extended, maybe next season they will maximize their team squad by bringing in new arrivals who are much more competent to be much more competitive and most importantly can compete in the Champions League.

[SatoPrincess]

One of the factors that makes the level different between Paris Saint Germain and other teams in Ligue 1 is the financial condition. Paris Saint Germain can be very free to get the players they want, even though they have to get them at a very fantastic price, while other teams cannot have it. Even other teams have to sell players who play well to get a profit, that is a very striking difference. It is undeniable that money has an influence on a team, therefore football and business cannot be separated and must go hand in hand. I think this will continue to happen when there is no change experienced by other teams, such as another team being acquired by a prince.

PSG are still one of the most talked about European teams and they are attracting big names and top calibre players because of the wealth of the club. Left alone to winning trophies and their stand in European competitions it would have been difficult for the club to influence some big deals as well as retain some top players they have, the wealth of the owners is really paving ways for them.

[Farma]

In the UCL PSG has seven points in five matches and if they fail to win the two remaining games they will be out of the competition. Sadly, this is not the time when knockout clubs would move to the Europa Cup. This time they will be out of all European competitions. This might be the final season of Louis Enrique if they end up being knocked out at the first stage of the Champions League. We all know that they are the dominating force in the French League, hence winning it doesn't count as success, especially for the management of the club.

I don't know why this club is very difficult in the Champions even though if you look at what they have every year they should be able to win the Champions title but what is the reality this season they do not have significant strength in the Champions they seem to only focus on the French League, many points lost in the Champions and their last two matches against Man City one of them and Man City also needs points to qualify for the next Champions phase of course this is difficult but the reality is they have to be able to get through it because they have the advantage of playing at home and the last match will play in Germany Stuttgard of course this will be difficult for big French clubs to get through the Champions phase this season.

There is no advantage from their current players and also Entique has not made many changes if you say Enrique succeeded because he won the French League of course that's ridiculous, because this big club should compete in the Champions because basically the French League already belongs to them there is no tight competition there, and in my opinion the wealth they have is not used wisely so what happens is they only buy players and give high salaries but there are no results it is very unfortunate for this club if they are eliminated quickly in the Champions this season.

[tusandii]

Nantes - Monaco

I wonder what Nantes will do in this match before they were able to hold Lille to a draw when playing as the away team but can they beat Monaco when they will play at home which should be an advantage for Nantes? As we know Nantes is actually in bad condition but they are trying to give a surprise when facing elite clubs even though the performance of Lille and Monaco is not much different if Nantes can beat Monaco it is an extraordinary result they will find their confidence again to improve their performance.
For their odds Monaco still has a greater chance of winning.

[Minor Miner]

~

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7 points is the gap created by Paris Saint Germain as the leader of the standings with the club in second place which is currently occupied by Marseille. 7 points is quite a distance because Paris Saint Germain is leading, so in my opinion that distance is quite comfortable for them. With all the inconsistencies that occur in other clubs in Ligue 1, I am not sure there is a club that can catch up. The possibility is still there, but the possibility is very small in my opinion. This also requires great luck, because after all it is very difficult to catch up with a superior club like Paris Saint Germain.

I don't think any other team will compete with PSG for the Ligue 1 title this season. Marseille and Monaco played very well at the beginning of the season. But both of these teams are now far behind. Marseille is 7 points behind PSG and Monaco is 10 points behind. It will not be possible for these teams to close such a big gap. Moreover, Monaco and Marseille's performance is not consistent.

Although PSG has lost points in a few matches, PSG is still undefeated in Ligue 1. Now Luis Enrique's goal is to do well in the Champions League. So maybe PSG may lose points in a few more matches in Ligue 1. However, PSG will not suffer much from this. PSG will win the Ligue 1 title this season as well.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Nantes - Monaco

I wonder what Nantes will do in this match before they were able to hold Lille to a draw when playing as the away team but can they beat Monaco when they will play at home which should be an advantage for Nantes? As we know Nantes is actually in bad condition but they are trying to give a surprise when facing elite clubs even though the performance of Lille and Monaco is not much different if Nantes can beat Monaco it is an extraordinary result they will find their confidence again to improve their performance.
For their odds Monaco still has a greater chance of winning.

Monaco isn't consistent either. Nantes can fight for a draw and if they are well determined they might have it. Nantes beating Monaco might be possible but doesn't sound realistic in all honesty. I will rather go for a draw game than Nantes winning against Monaco even though Monaco is not perfect form.

If eventually Nantes defeats Monaco then it mean Monaco needs to revisit their drawing board and restrategize else they might not end will this season because LOSC is patiently waiting for a flop so they can replace replace.