The French Ligue 1 2016/17 season featured surprises & shocks and highs & lows for teams across the table, as we prepare for the new season here are some of the highlights:
2015-16 Ligue 2 winners Nancy were sent back down the relegation chute while their fellow promoted side Metz, comfortably, and Dijon, not so comfortably, lived to fight another season. Bastia showed promise as they finished 10th in the 2015-16 season but doubled their position number to 20th,following Nancy´s slipstream to Ligue 2. Meanwhile Lorient lost relegation play-offs to Troyes after a last-minute winner.
Towards the top of the table, the eccentric Balotelli and the excellently rounded ability of Jean Michel Seri led Nice to a coveted Champions League spot, their first chance of reaching the top European competition since the 1959-60 season.
What last season will be most remembered for is the young heroes overcoming the oil-rich, as a frustrated PSG were knocked off their 4-year perch at the top of Ligue 1 by a team that finished 31 points behind them in the previous season. This leads us to Monaco, who had an excellent season, topping the French Ligue 1 for the first time in 17 years. A lot of Monaco´s players were relative unknowns or only just promoted from the youth ranks; today most have heard of the likes of Thomas Lemar and Kylian Mbappé.
The curtain raiser of the new season starts with the champions, as Monaco hosts Toulouse to give us the first taste of what lies ahead. Toulouse will be hoping to kick-off their season with good-scoring form after only scoring 37 goals last year, the 4th lowest in the league, but still managed a respectable 13th place finish. Meanwhile, Monaco will be itching to start the season in positive fashion after raising the bar of expectation from their fans last season, and to get over the losses of key players
For a more in-depth analysis on Ligue 1 transfers, take a look at our season preview here.
Monaco vs. Toulouse
3-Way: 1: Monaco -286; X: +520 Draw; 2: Toulouse +1123
Spread -1.5: Monaco +100; Toulouse +112
Total +3: Over +102; Under -105
Monaco
Monaco will take confidence from their last season, finishing top of the pile and ending the Ligue 1 campaign with a 12-game winning streak. The French champions also showed that they can compete with the big guns in Europe by making the semi-finals of the Champions League, dispatching the likes of Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund on the way. Unfortunately, Monaco were knocked out by eventual runners up Juventus, but a fairytale campaign nonetheless.
It could be said that the reason for these unexpected levels of success was down to the emergence of youth players such as Bakayoko with his commanding performances from midfield, Thomas Lemar with his great dribbling and passing technique and Kylian Mbappé for his pure talent as well as managing to register 15 goals and 11 assists; quite impressive for a group of players that are all below the age of 21.
However, it would be unfair to not mention the roles that the aforementioned players veteran peers played, for example the ever-reliable goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, who made 17 clean sheets last season, the goal-hungry Radamel Falcao and the unsung hero in defense Kamil Glik, who curiously managed 8 goals in all competitions last season, primarily through his extraordinary aerial ability.
For all of last’s seasons highs, Monaco will be rattled by the summer´s transfers, losing 3 star players in 3 months in Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva, and Tiemoué Bakayoko With regards to their lost players Bakayoko´s performances were nothing short of world-class last season and will prove impossible to replace, but Monaco may feel they have done good business by signing the versatile Terence Kongolo, who can fill in Mendy´s position at left-back, while the energetic flair of Youri Tielemans could help fill in some of the gaps left behind by Silva.
Further worry for Monaco was Saturday’s 2:1 defeat to Ligue 1 rivals PSG in the French Super Cup Final. In addition, their pre-season friendlies have been disappointing, losing to Sporting Lisbon and only drawing with PSV and Fenerbache, although they are all tough opposition. Apart from this they have achieved a respectable two wins and one draw in the remaining summer friendlies.
Leanardo Jardim will be without left-winger Gabriel Boschilia after he suffered from a cruciate ligament rupture, but will otherwise have a full squad.
Toulouse
Despite Les Pitchouns finishing a respectable 13th last season, ensuring survival in the French Ligue 1 will be a challenge next season. Toulouse finished the season with 37 goals, averaging less than a goal a game. They did, however, concede a slight 41 goals, possibly in part due to the team’s tough no-nonsense defense, completing the season with 565 fouls, 89 yellow cards and 5 red cards. Aggressive.
Saying that, it would be unfair not to mention the centre-back pairing of Issa Diop and Christian Jullien who would often put in team-saving performances while under the cosh. Defensive forward Oscar Trejo also put some great work defensively by winning the ball in the final third a total of 17 times, but unfortunately for Toulouse he has left for Rayo Vallecano.
Now the reason that I mention that the coming season will be a challenge relates to the number of goals scored, just 37 last season. 11 of those goals have been lost through the departure of Martin Braithwaite, who has left for Middlesborough, and Toulouse’s master-plan of replacing these goals has been the signing of free agent Yaya Sanogo, a striker who only managed one goal in four years at Arsenal, while spending most of his time in reserves or on the injury table.
However, Sanogo is talented and could yet prove to be a top player, injury problems permitting. Toulouse’s coup of the season was holding to their central defensive partnership of Diop and Jullien, who both will surely be picked up by an English or other big club soon enough.
Toulouse’s pre-season was evidence of a lack of bite upfront and contrasting solid defense, with their results reading 0:1, 1:1, 0:0, 1:1, 1:0; showing that the proof is also in the pudding. The results don’t make entirely unsatisfactory reading for manager Pascal Dupraz, but you’d expect that he can see where the weaknesses of his team lie and will invest duly.
Pascal Dupraz will be with a full squad roster for the game.
Monaco vs. Toulouse – MATCH PREDICTION
As last year’s Ligue 1 winners, Monaco may feel a sense of duty to start the season how they ended the last, and there will of course be a sense of expectation as all eyes will be looking upon the 1st game of Ligue 1.
Due to Monaco’s below par pre-season and their loss of key players, I could see them making a nervy start. Toulouse defense will make it a difficult task too by ruffling their feathers whenever they get the opportunity, keeping it a low scoring game. Monaco still have enormous quality and a gulf in class between their opponents with genuine world class talent.
Expect the expected that is Monaco coming through as winners, but no means easy winners. The possibility of a low scoring game is high, so I would definitely recommend taking a bet on it.
MY PICK: Under 3 goals (-105)
