Ligue 1 Matchday 1: Previewing Fixtures and Odds for the Games

Ligue 1 Reduced to 18 Teams

At the end of last season, four Ligue 1 teams went down to Ligue 2 ahead of the French first tier’s move from 20 to 18 teams. While the move was primarily financial, that could lead to a higher standard of play in the division, which Paris Saint-Germain has recently dominated. In our Ligue 1 Matchday 1 Preview, we’ll look at PSG’s odds vs. Lorient as they kick off their title defense.

PSG has signed a handful of young players this Summer, but Lionel Messi has left, and Kylian Mbappe and Neymar could follow. Along with PSG, we’ll look at some of the top matches of Ligue 1’s first weekend of 2023-24.

Matches of the Week:

The 2023-24 Ligue 1 schedule starts with Nice vs. Lille on Friday. Nice had the second-best defensive record in Ligue 1 last season but only managed to finish in ninth place. Meanwhile, Lille finished in fifth place, which meant they qualified for the 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League. Lille boosted their defense in the offseason by signing Samuel Umtiti and Portuguese right-back Tiago Santos.

LOSC also brought in Icelandic attacking midfielder Hákon Arnar Haraldsson for €15 million to bring in some creativity. Striker Jonathan David scored 24 goals last season and is starting the season with Lille despite interest from top clubs. Meanwhile, Nice made a permanent loan move for striker Terem Moffi and signed Atalanta’s Jeremie Boga.

Last season, Nice won both Ligue 1 meetings between the two sides and has won three of the previous four. This match is listed as a pick’em, but Lille are slight favorites. Lille pk shows -135 odds, while Nice pk comes in at +105. Nice went 7-7-5 at home last season and has a new manager, Francesco Farioli.

Hosts Nice sit at +190 moneyline odds, corresponding to an implied 34.5 percent chance of victory. Coach Paulo Fonseca is back for a second season at Lille, and Les Dogues had a difficult time on the road last season. Lille put together a 6-6-7 record away from home in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season. Still, the visitors display +150 odds to win this match, and a draw comes in at +240 odds. Three of the last four meetings have finished with three or more goals but the oddsmakers price both over and under 2.5 goals at -115 odds.

Ligue 1 Matchday 1 Previews note that Marseille displays the second-best odds to win Ligue 1 in 2023-24. OM head into the season at +900 odds to win their first title since 2009 and has been intentional about improving in the offseason. Marseille have backed new boss Marcelino with a bunch of new signings. They brought Renan Lodi, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye, Ruben Blanco, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

OM also made loan deals for Amine Harit and Ruslan Malinovskyi permanently. Note that Marseille only has two days of rest heading into their Ligue 1 opener vs. Reims, though. The first leg of their third-round Champions League qualifier vs. Panathinaikos was on Wednesday. Last season, Reims was on the longest unbeaten streak in Europe’s top-five leagues before Marseille ended it.

That may still be fresh in the mind of Reims coach Will Still and his players. Like Marseille, Reims made a handful of signings, most of them quite tricky. They brought in Joseph Okumu, Teddy Teuma, Amine Salama, Oumar Diakite, and Reda Khadra on permanent deals. Regardless, Marseille have won the last three meetings of this fixture and are unbeaten in the previous six.

Marseille heads into Saturday as one-goal favorites and shows -105 odds to cover. Meanwhile, Reims +1 comes in at -125 odds, and Still’s side drew nearly half of their road matches last season. A draw here sits at +320 odds. Marseille’s leading scorer from last season, Alexis Sanchez, has left the club, but OM display -165 odds to win their season opener regardless.

Reims last picked up a road win vs. Marseille in 2019 and are +420 moneyline underdogs for this match. Marseille scored six goals in two games vs. Reims in 2022-23, and over 2.5 goals are priced at -135 odds for Saturday’s match.

Our Ligue 1 Matchday 1 Preview notes that Paris Saint-Germain have overhauled their team in the offseason. Lionel Messi is gone, Neymar has handed in a transfer request, and PSG has forced Kylian Mbappe to train separately from the squad amidst a contract dispute. Mbappe led the Ligue 1 stats in 2022-23 for a fifth straight season, with 29 goals.

Even if neither Mbappe nor Neymar plays for PSG this season, the club has made backup plans. They signed Marco Asensio, Lee Kang-in, and Goncalo Ramos on loan from Benfica. Obviously, these players are not on the same level as Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe, but they can potentially make a significant impact in Ligue 1. PSG’s defense has also gotten much better with the signings of Lucas Hernandez and Milan Skriniar.

PSG’s big-money signing of the Summer was defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who cost €60 million. With all of the changes, including a new coach, Luis Enrique, PSG takes on Lorient in their first match of the 2023-24 season. Lorient finished the 2022-23 season in tenth place, and they managed to defeat PSG 3-1 on the road.

In fact, Lorient has done quite well vs. PSG in recent seasons. In the last five meetings, both sides have won two matches, with one draw. Still, PSG’s handicap is -1.5, -2 at +110 odds for the match. With so many questions surrounding the team, bettors may want to be cautious with the Parisians in the season’s first few weeks. Meanwhile, Lorient +1.5, +2 at -140 odds could be a decent bet.

PSG are -300 moneyline favorites, while Lorient shows +740 odds, and a draw comes in at +450. Four of the last five meetings have finished with three or more goals, and over three goals display -140 odds here.

Lens was the biggest surprise of the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season. They finished second in the Ligue 1 standings and had the best home record in the league, at 17-1-1. Lens lost just four games all of last season and had the best defensive record in Ligue 1. However, they lost a couple of their best players in the offseason.

Lois Openda, who led Lens with 21 goals last season, is off to RB Leipzig. Midfielder and captain Seko Fofana also joined Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Lens, who will participate in the Champions League this year, added Andy Diouf, Angelo Fulgini, Oscar Cortes, and Morgan Guilavogui.

Lens head on the road to Brest on Sunday; the visitors are favorites. RC Lens won their last seven Ligue 1 matches in 2022-23 and are -110 moneyline favorites here. Meanwhile, Lens pk, -0.5, is priced at -150 odds. Brest, who went 7-5-7 at home last season, are +290 underdogs. Also, Brest pk, +0.5, comes in at +120 odds.

Last season, these teams met three times in all competitions. Lens won twice and drew 1-1 in the Ligue 1 meeting at Brest. Another draw stands at +260 odds, and under 2.5 goals come in at -120. However, both teams scored in all three meetings in 2022-23.

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