Topic: French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1) - page 484. (Read 193946 times)

If you have been watching the French league for a long time you may know Lyon was not a weak team and unlike the current situation they have right now, Lyon was even racing for a title with other top teams in the league and they have the experience of playing in Champions League.
But currently, Lyon is far from what we knew from them and they are not in a good situation at all. Lyon was even close to getting relegated during this season.

Lyon this season is not performing well, starting the season badly and even being at the bottom of the standings, which is their worst peak this season. However, slowly they are starting to recover and are now getting further away from the relegation zone. This was a commendable effort for the squad to see. It is true that returning to competing at the top is difficult for Lyon this season, but at least they can get up and fight to be in the top 10 of the standings this season.

Because for me Lyon was a Ligue 1 powerhouse from 2000-12. Before Qatar came for psg. I remember the Lyon squad when they had Juninho, tiago, benzema, govou, coupet, Toulalan, erin abidal which was a very strong team. But watching Lyon now is really sad, don't forget Lyon has one of the best youth academies in Europe, they produced so many football talents at that time. I hope they will recover soon.

I have often said in previous posts that it will be difficult for Nice to maintain its position at the top of the Ligue 1 standings, especially if they want to compete with PSG. I don't mean to underestimate Nice, it's just that these two teams have a very significant gap. IMO, Nice's superiority in their 17 matches in Ligue 1 is none other than because they have a fairly strong, disciplined and solid defense. and Nice has the advantage of having a strong defense, making the opposing team off guard and at the same time Nice is able to take advantage of its opportunities. so it's very natural that Nice is not very productive in terms of scoring lots of goals.
however, Nice should be given appreciation, because so far they have been able to stay in the top four of the Ligue 1 standings. Last season, Nice finished in 9th place. this season, after playing 17 matches, Nice is still able to survive even though the potential for being overtaken by AS Monaco is quite large. but at least, the squad coached by Francesco Farioli is a team that is difficult to beat. it has been proven that so far they have only experienced two defeats and only conceded nine goals. so, they have experienced quite drastic improvements compared to last season.

As for the other teams, I think Monaco has prospects, even though their consistency is not yet stable. I am quite sure that Monaco will be able to finish in 2nd place by the end of this season. as for PSG, I'm sure that Luis Enrique is not targeting competing for the Champions League trophy. just look, Luis Enrique's squad is not strong enough to compete with Europe's top elite teams. that's why, I think PSG is currently more focused on building the team's foundation and they are currently focusing on their young players.

Paris Saint Germaine in the past few years have been one of the most consistent teams in Europe but never have they lifted the trophy instead they were able to reach the final of the UEFA champions league competition in the 2019/20 season which they narrowly lost to Bayern Munich. The club's management have done well to sign top quality footballers over the years to help the club win the UEFA champions league trophy but despite all their efforts, they've not been able to actualize their dream.

It's been reported in the media that the club's best player Kylian Mbappe will be leaving the club in the summer next summer to join Real Madrid which means that this might potentially be his last season with the French champions. With the quality of players in the PSG squad this season, I think they're capable of finally winning the UEFA champions trophy

Lyon has shown improvement in recent weeks. So I think the change of authority is actually working for them. The way they have performed so far in this season, it has been really bad. But the last 3 matches have been good for them and they were able to win all three out of the last three matches. So of course we have to give them credit. The good thing is they are already out of the relegation zone. It is going to be hard for them to improve the standing on the table. And it is definitely going to be a lot harder for them to actually finish in a competitive position like in the top six or something. But I think they will be able to stay out of the relegation zone.

This is not an easy job for PSG because we have seen in several seasons that they have had great difficulty when facing teams from other leagues, especially in the Champions League where PSG have to admit the greatness of other teams compared to them. And also in the previous few seasons, PSG always changed coaching, which may also be a strong reference that the players must always adapt to various new strategies from the coach. so that the players find it very difficult to show consistency in their performance from season to season.

However, in Ligue 1, of course PSG is still the strongest compared to other teams, making them easily champions every season. If PSG wants to be the strongest in the European league, especially in the Champions League, then they have to learn from Manchester City, namely giving their coach time to build a squad so that it is well organized from season to season. If that happens I think they will be ready to bring the UCL trophy home to Ligue 1.

PSG's weakness is an attraction that cannot be fully resolved because it is not easy to be in a situation where every season you are only motivated by chasing the Ligue 1 title or other domestic titles and that is the reason PSG always lags behind other top European clubs. They only rule in France and when they leave their comfort zone they are no doubt like prey that must be hunted by other great predators.

Using a new strategy in a match such as against a weak Revel team in the Coupe De France competition is not wrong, but of course the results will be different when this strategy is applied against a team that is quite strong or equal. So I think it's not a matter of strategy but more about having fun because a typical big team like PSG only looks great when it's like this and when playing against other strong teams in Ligue 1 they aren't necessarily able to do that.

Of course everyone will be shocked and feel that Mbappe has given false hope, all speculation about him will no longer be credible if this time Mbappe stays at PSG again. The bonus given if Mbappe survives is quite large, if Mbappe only looks in that direction then he has closed the opportunity to become the best player in the world.

We know that winning this individual award is very difficult if you are still playing in Ligue 1, but if you move to La Liga with Madrid or move to the Premier League with Liverpool this dream is a little easier. Enrique and PSG management will continue to tempt him to stay longer in Paris, his presence in the main squad makes PSG comfortable to continue dominating Ligue 1.

In the first half Nice done good job and keep things at the top even they are not having luxuries like PSG but still their defense is one of the best in this season, but sadly their defensive tactics are not going to help them for winning title they need to add some aggressive striker which helps them and increase their number of goals as well in last few matches before break they lost 2 matches both were against low rank teams which are surely painful but still they are doing decent job which is going to help them for having better results.

After break, things will be on another level as few teams are trying to join at the top, and they will do as much they can like Monaco, Marseille and Lille surprise package Brest and Lens are also doing good job, so Nice needs to change their way of playing and need to be aggressive approach which can give them better spot at the end.

For me there is nothing more special than those nine goals because they faced a much easier club. However, despite this, appreciation goes to PSG who were able to play more openly in that match and especially to Mbappe who was able to score three goals with his extraordinary skills. However, what you have to remember is that this is only against a weak team and PSG still has a big match in the Champions League so they have to try to evaluate every existing weakness.

Because the match was not too close to other competitions, Luis Enrique did not try to rotate. It is also possible that Luis Enrique will try to implement some strategies in this match by testing several possibilities that can be applied in the Champions League later. However, this victory was quite satisfying because fans could smile a little more when they saw the appearance of the players they liked.

Rennes appearing to be the favorite in their next fixture against Nice is really getting me to nursing some taughts of what could be the possible reason behind such because according to the bookies the odds are higher on Nice while it's a bit fair around Rennes, maybe their he advantage is a key reason this would have been kept that way.

I still don't have that full conviction that Rennes can be able to defeat Nice I'm theirs fixture on Saturday. Nice is at the second position with 35 points and in their last five games, they were able to win three and lost two as against Rennes who won just two games in their last five games and lost two drew one which they are at the 10th position with just 19rh points which for me is a clear indication that they are both not of matching strength so most definitely Nice still remains favourite for me.

Sacking Fabio Grosso is bringing good changes with positive results and end of worst era for the Lyon which create serious internal issues now look like they are back into business and their last four wins with clean sheets are surely positive change for them and their fans as well now we have few days left in start of the next half of the season which could be more challenging because if they want to keep things at the top level now they needed to be at this level which will give them good results and better spot as well.

Most chances if we have good results and better spot at the end of this season then Pierre Sage surely deserve more time which can bring good results and better chances for the staying at the top ranks in Ligue 1 but with this all they need to improve their squad for the quality results as well because now time is changing and things can go down again if they fail to have quality players.

Actually, such a small number of conceded is certainly a good result but unfortunately, at the same time the reality is that Nice does not have a high number of goals. So ya, although Nice is in second place and 5 points different with PSG, but I think Nice is still not strong enough to be able to compete in the title race. But yes, at least with results like this it is possible for Nice to finish in the top 3 and will play in the Champions League next season, of course it will still be a good result for Nice this season.

Lyon recently has showing good progress that from 4 latest matches in all competitions Lyon was unbeatable they even can win all of those matches with cleansheet status so sacked Fabio Grosso seems good decision for Lyon because without that manager Lyon can able to performing well much better and previously Pierre Sage status as interm manager because after Fabio Grosso got sacked Lyon owner want to look for new manager but seems everything was change that after Lyon can able to gets 4 winning streak under him then the owner have decide to give Pierre Sage contract and reported Pierre Sage will train this team until end of this season and i know it's hard for Lyon to survive at Ligue 1 because basically Lyon performance still not stable but if this team can avoiding relegation zone i think possibly Lyon owner will extended Pierre Sage contract

Actually, such a small number of conceded is certainly a good result but unfortunately, at the same time the reality is that Nice does not have a high number of goals. So ya, although Nice is in second place and 5 points different with PSG, but I think Nice is still not strong enough to be able to compete in the title race. But yes, at least with results like this it is possible for Nice to finish in the top 3 and will play in the Champions League next season, of course it will still be a good result for Nice this season.

Yes, there is definitely a difference between the Champions League and League 1 because it is a domestic league, even though PSG is very strong in League 1, it does not provide a guarantee of being able to appear strong in the CL because here every club rarely meets and competes, whereas in League 1 every club is guaranteed. Each has its own weaknesses and can always get great results.
The Champions League is a competition that proves to the whole world that a club that can survive until a certain round is proof that the club deserves to be recognized as a strong club because it is able to compete globally, not just in the domestic league, and like PSG today, if it is able to successfully qualify. from the round of 16 it can be acknowledged that the club is one of the strongest clubs even though it could not reach the final round.

Yes, it is quite a contrasting comparison if you look at the French League and the UCL because it is true that in the French League there is no particular club that is capable of becoming PSG's toughest rival. So the benchmark for PSG's true strength is indeed the match in the UCL. and unfortunately so far in the UCL, even though they have football stars or not, it turns out they have not been able to survive and win the cup which has been their dream for a long time.

Despite Nice flopping a bit in their quest for the Ligue 1 title, is still applaud their consistency so far because it's not really easy to maintain such form since the season began and even maintain the second position after losing our the top position to Paris Saint German. Nice have won 10 out of 17 matches they've played so far, drew 5 and lost just 2 and has a total of 40 points so definitely they're good and one thing I admire about Nice is their solid defense as they don't concede too many goals that's why they conceded just 9 goals in their league matches this season and scored a total of 19 goals.