2022/23 Ligue 1 Season Preview – Title Favourites, Promoted Teams, New Signings and More
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Due to the winter World Cup, France’s Ligue 1 returns early this year. With the 2022/23 season set to kick off on August 5, it’s time to answer all the burning questions ahead of the new campaign.
In this 2022/23 Ligue 1 season preview, we cover the title favourites, the battle for European places, the newly-promoted teams and all the top incoming transfers.
Who Are the 2022/23 Ligue 1 Title Favourites?
If you already know a thing or two about French football, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Paris Saint-Germain are the bookies’ clear favourites to win the 2022/23 Ligue 1 title.
The defending champions have won eight of the last ten titles, including four of the previous five. With Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar leading the way, they look destined to clinch yet another crown.
Lyon, Marseille and Monaco are viewed as PSG’s nearest challengers. Even so, the gulf between the Parisians and chasing pack is vast.
How Will the Battle for European Places Pan Out?
As we just touched on, Lyon, Marseille and Monaco are expected to compete for the remaining two UEFA Champions League spots. The top two are automatically entered in the UCL, while third place must qualify.
With fourth place heading straight into the UEFA Europa League group stage and fifth getting a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier, there are plenty of European place up for grabs.
Away from the obvious candidates, clubs such as Rennes, Nice, Lille, Strasbourg, Lens and Nantes will fancy their chances of breaking into the top five.
What Can We Expect from the Newly-Promoted Teams?
Toulouse, Ajaccio and Auxerre gained promotion from Ligue 2 last season. Toulouse ended their two-year absence from the top tier, while Ajaccio and Auxerre ended eight-year and ten-year absences, respectively.
Naturally, Toulouse are expected to cope better than Ajaccio and Auxerre. But it is always difficult to predict how the newly-promoted teams will fare. Time will tell where the newcomers have got what it takes to avoid relegation.
Who Are the New Ligue 1 Players to Keep an Eye On?
As expected, PSG have been Ligue 1’s biggest spenders this summer. The Parisians have signed Portuguese pair Vitinha and Nuno Mendes for a combined total of €79.50 million.
Marseille have also been busy, too, bringing in Matteo Guendouzi (€11m), Cengiz Under (€8.4m) and Arkadiusz Milik (€8m). Meanwhile, Lyon have secured the free transfers of Corentin Tolisso from Bayern Munich and Alexandre Lacazette from Arsenal.
It’s destined to be another thrilling top-flight season in France. Be sure to keep an eye out for our regular Ligue 1 predictions throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
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