Ligue 1
2021-2022|
Paris Saint Germain
|
Marseille
|
Monaco
|
Nice
|
Rennes
|
Strasbourg
|
Lyon
|
Lens
|
Lille
|
Nantes
|
Stade Brestois 29
|
Reims
|
Montpellier
|
Angers
|
Estac Troyes
|
Clermont Foot
|
Lorient
|
Saint Etienne
|
Metz
|
Bordeaux
|
||
| 1 | Paris Saint Germain | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Marseille | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | |
| 3 | Monaco | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | |
| 4 | Nice | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | |
| 5 | Rennes | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 6–0 | |
| 6 | Strasbourg | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 5–2 | |
| 7 | Lyon | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | |
| 8 | Lens | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–2 | |
| 9 | Lille | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| 10 | Nantes | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–3 | |
| 11 | Stade Brestois 29 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | |
| 12 | Reims | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | |
| 13 | Montpellier | 0–4 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | |
| 14 | Angers | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 4–1 | |
| 15 | Estac Troyes | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | |
| 16 | Clermont Foot | 1–6 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | |
| 17 | Lorient | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 18 | Saint Etienne | 1–3 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| 19 | Metz | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| 20 | Bordeaux | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Player | Club | Position | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ligue 1 is a French football championship. The first tournament took place in 1932. The format of the tournament has changed several times. In the 2021/2022 season, 20 clubs are fighting for the championship title. Now let’s analyse the structure of the championship, the rules for determining places in the standings and the favourites of the 2021/2022 season.
Participants
20 teams take part in the 2021/2022 season of the championship. There are two new clubs in the season. They gained promotion from Ligue 2. The championship will take place from 6 August 2021 to 21 May 2022.
The full list of Ligue 1 participants is as follows:
- Angers
- Bordeaux
- Brest
- Clermont
- Lens
- Lille
- Lorient
- Metz
- Monaco
- Montpellier
- Nantes
- Nice
- Lyon
- Marseille
- PSG
- Reims
- Rennes
- Saint-Etienne
- Strasbourg
- Troyes
If compared with the 2020/2021 season, two changes have occurred in the standings of the Ligue 1. Dijon and Nimes went to Ligue 2. The first one spent five seasons in the elite division, the second one - three. Their places in Ligue 1 were taken by Troyes and Clermont. Troyes returned to the elite group after three seasons, and it’s Clermont’s debut season at top level. All teams match results and match stats are available on the official website of Ligue 1.
Tournament policy
Ligue 1 is held according to the "autumn-spring" system. Teams play in two circles: one at their home field and one as guests. Each club plays in 38 rounds. Taking into account that there are 10 matches in one round, 380 matches per season are planned in the tournament schedule.
Ligue 1 teams are fighting for three positions in the standings: the championship, a place in the European competition, and the preservation of positions. The position of a team in the standings is related to the number of points scored in the season. The club receives three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. The Ligue 1 champion is determined by the maximum number of points scored. In case of equal result, the following three criteria are used:
- better goal difference in the season;
- the number of goal scored;
- head-to-head stats (points, goal difference).
If teams are equal by all criteria, the champion is determined by fair play points. The number of red and yellow cards, violation of the rules and other criteria of foul play are taken into account in this case.
In addition to the champion title, the teams are fighting for places in European competitions and preservation of their positions. From Ligue 1, five clubs enter the European competition through the championship. Champion and vice-champion enter the Champions League group. The bronze medallist enters the Champions League qualification. The fourth team of the tournament will play in the group stage of the Europa League, and the fifth one in the play-off round of the Conference League qualification. The 19th and 20th teams of Ligue 1 are leaving the elite division. The 18th place finisher will play with the bronze medallist of Ligue 2 in the play-off matches for retaining the position in the elite division.
Favourites/outsiders
In recent years, there is only one top club in the French championship, which has no competitors. In the 2020/2021 season, PSG let the victory slip away in the tournament against Lille. In Ligue 1 for the 2021/2022 draw, PSG is considered the undisputed favourite. The Paris-based team had a strong transfer campaign in the summer, getting stars such as Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Lionel Messi.
PSG will fight for the championship with:
- Lyon;
- Marseille;
- Lille;
- Monaco.
The list of contenders for victory in the tournament is unchanged.
When making predictions of games, it is important to know the main outsiders of the championship. The newcomers Clermont and Brest got into the list of the main losers. Metz, Lorient, Saint-Etienne and Troyes have not the highest chances of retaining their positions in the elite group. The outsiders include both Ligue 1 rookie clubs.
Transfers
Ligue 1 dropped out of the top 5 European Championships, losing its place in the UEFA odds table to the Portuguese Championship. Despite this, the star line-up of the tournament was replenished with new names. Among the main changes in the line-ups, it is worth highlighting:
- Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Lionel Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum - PSG;
- Myron Boadu — Monaco;
- Gerson, Leonardo Balerdi — Marseille;
- Kamaldeen Sulemana, Lovro Majer — Rennes;
- Calvin Stengs — Nice.
There are also line-up losses for the clubs in Ligue 1. Among the main losses, it is worth highlighting:
- Boubakary Soumare, Mike Maignan — Lille;
- Benjamin Hendriks — Monaco;
- Memphis Depay, Joachim Andersen — Lyon;
- Pape Sarr — Metz;
- Mohamed Simakan — Strasbourg.
The total market value of Ligue 1 is €3.69 billion. In the list of five most expensive players in the championship are only PSG players, including two newcomers: Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, Marquinhos, Donnarumma. Main news of Ligue 1, including transfer changes, are available on the official Ligue 1 website and club social media accounts.
Features of bets
The French Championship is not characterized by high performance. In the 2020/2021 season, the teams scored 1,049 goals in 380 matches. The average is 2.76 goals per game. In the previous three seasons, the numbers were at 2.52, 2.56 and 2.72 goals per game. The list of top scoring teams last season included PSG (2.26 goals per game), Lyon (2.13) and Monaco (2.00). Reims, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne and Angers scored the fewest number of goals.
The 2021/2022 season will have an interesting race in the bombing race. Mbappe has been the best in Ligue 1 for three seasons in a row, and Messi has won the top scorer race in the last five seasons of La Liga. The forwards now represent one team. Bookmakers consider Messi to be the favourite.
