Ligue 2
2021-2022|
Toulouse
|
Ajaccio
|
Auxerre
|
Paris FC
|
Sochaux
|
Guingamp
|
LE Havre
|
Caen
|
Nimes
|
PAU
|
Dijon
|
Bastia
|
Niort
|
Valenciennes
|
Grenoble
|
Amiens
|
Rodez
|
Quevilly
|
Dunkerque
|
Nancy
|
||
| 1 | Toulouse | 2–2 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Ajaccio | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| 3 | Auxerre | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 4 | Paris FC | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| 5 | Sochaux | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 6 | Guingamp | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| 7 | LE Havre | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| 8 | Caen | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| 9 | Nimes | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| 10 | PAU | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | |
| 11 | Dijon | 2–4 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | |
| 12 | Bastia | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 13 | Niort | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| 14 | Valenciennes | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 6–1 | |
| 15 | Grenoble | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | |
| 16 | Amiens | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | |
| 17 | Rodez | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | |
| 18 | Quevilly | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| 19 | Dunkerque | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| 20 | Nancy | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 |
| Player | Club | Position | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ligue 2 is the second-strongest football division in France. The first tournament took place in 1933. The format of the tournament has changed several times. The 2021/2022 season will feature a smooth championship with the participation of 20 teams. 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 four new clubs in the season, two of them are from Ligue 1 and another two – from the lower division. The championship will take place from 24 July 2021 to 14 May 2022.
The full list of Ligue 2 participants is as follows:
- Amiens
- Ajaccio
- Bastia
- Valenciennes
- Havre
- Guingamp
- Grenoble
- Dijon
- Dunkerque
- Caen
- Quevilly-Rouen
- Nancy
- Nimes
- Niort
- Auxerre
- Paris
- Pau
- Rodez
- Sochaux
- Toulouse
If compared with the 2020/2021 season, four changes have occurred in the standings of Ligue 2. Dijon and Nimes went from Ligue 1 to the second division. Based on the results of the National Championship, Bastia and Quevilly-Rouen got promoted. All teams match results and match stats are available on the official website of Ligue 2.
Tournament policy
Ligue 2 is held according to the classic UEFA "autumn-spring" system. The season schedule includes 38 rounds. Each round has 10 games, and the teams play 380 matches during one championship.
Ligue 2 teams are fighting for two positions in the standings: promotion and preservation of positions. The position of a team in the standings is related to the number of points scored in the season. A three-point system is applied: the team receives three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Based on the result of the season, the points scored are summed up, and the team's place in the standings is determined. In case of equality of points, 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.
Five Ligue 2 teams are eligible for promotion. They compete for three tickets to the elite division. Champion and Vice Champion receive a direct promotion. Three more teams play in the play-offs. The head-to-head duel is played by the 4th and 5th teams of the tournament, the winner plays with the bronze medallist. The strongest team from 3-5 places as a result plays with the 18th team of Ligue 1. The 19th and 20th teams leave Ligue 2. The 18th team plays the play-offs with the bronze medallist of the National Championship.
Favourites and outsiders
In France's second division, the competition for promotion is between teams that have recently played in the elite division. With rare exceptions, clubs that are relegated from Ligue 1 spend more than 2-4 seasons in the second division. In the 2021/2022 season of Ligue 2, the following teams are the favourites for promotion:
- Toulouse;
- Nimes;
- Grenoble;
- Paris;
- Auxerre.
Ligue 2 newcomers Bastia and Quevilly-Rouen, as well as Nancy, Dunkerque and Valenciennes will participate in the struggle for preservation of their positions. The chances of teams in the fight for places in the standings are closely related to the total value of the players. Nimes and Toulouse are among the most expensive clubs in Ligue 2, while Dunkerque, Quevilly-Rouen and Bastia are the cheapest clubs in Ligue 2 in terms of total player value.
Features of bets
In order to make accurate predictions for the games, it is important to know the characteristics of Ligue 2. The second division of France is not distinguished by the highest performance. In the leading group, there are 3-5 teams that score 60 or more goals in a season, the rest rarely exceed 50 goals scored. In the 2020/2021 season, the average performance was 2.3 goals per game. The highest-scoring teams are Toulouse with 71 goals scored and Auxerre with 64 goals scored. Both clubs play in Ligue 2 of the current season.
In Ligue 2, there is not a big gap between the tournament participants. Most of the teams work according to a single model: they look for promising players and then sell them. The favourites of the previous season are not always able to repeat the result, as they sell players to stronger championships.
The best option for betting on Ligue 2 is to bet on total and on double chance. Last season, 33% of matches ended in a draw. The total must be selected individually, based on the team's average performance in the season. We can bet on clear wins in games between favourites, especially if they play at their home field. The home field and a road game factor is the same for all tournaments.
