For three teams, the start of the 2024/25 Ligue 1 campaign is an opportunity to re-establish themselves at the top table of French football. Auxerre, Angers and Saint-Etienne all secured promotion back to Ligue 1 from Ligue 2 last season. Have they got what it takes to avoid an immediate return to the second tier?
It’s not only the trio of newly-promoted sides who’ll be looking over their shoulders either. We’ll also discuss the teams who narrowly avoided the drop last term and could be dragged into the relegation dogfight once again.
- Auxerre well-placed to establish themselves in Ligue 1 after winning Ligue 2 with 6 defeats in 38 games
- Saint-Etienne boss Olivier Dall’Oglio has a 58.33% win rate since taking charge in December 2023
- Angers’ squad has the lowest market value in Ligue 1 (€27.20m), but they continue to trust their boss, Alexandre Dujeux
Ligue 1 Markets | Auxerre Odds | Saint-Etienne Odds | Angers Odds | Le Havre Odds |
Relegation | ||||
Top 4 Finish |
Odds courtesy of Parimatch. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
Why Angers are the most vulnerable to an immediate return to Ligue 2
Bookmakers seem to feel last season’s Ligue 2 champions, Auxerre, are the least likely of the three promoted teams to go straight back down. They are currently priced at 3.00 for the drop. The positive news for Auxerre is that they’ve retained all the key players involved in their promotion bid.
They’ve also managed to bolster their backline by signing Luton Town defender, Gabriel Osho, as well as Canadian forward, Theo Bair. Bair notched 15 goals in 41 appearances for Scottish Premier League side Motherwell last term.
At the other end of the spectrum, Angers are considered most likely to face relegation, priced at 2.10 for the drop. Angers have the lowest squad value in Ligue 1 and very little budget to invest.
Journeyman striker, Lois Diony, bagged 15 goals last season. The worry for Angers is that he was the only player to get into double figures at second tier level. Ligue 1 is a step up and the likes of Himad Abdelli and Farid El Melali will need to adapt well to life in the top tier.
Saint-Etienne’s 23/24 playoff promotion was indebted to the new manager, Olivier Dall’Oglio. The former Montpellier manager enjoyed a 58.33% win rate since taking over the Greens in December 2023.
Dall’Oglio has demonstrated his ability to stabilise Montpellier in Ligue 1. He then secured promotion from Ligue 2 with Brest and helped them to establish themselves as a top tier outfit, so Saint-Etienne seem to be in stable hands.
Le Havre are in danger of sleepwalking into a relegation scrap
Le Havre appear to be one of the most exposed teams ahead of the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season. They’re only priced narrowly higher than Auxerre for relegation at 3.50 and with good reason. Last term, Le Ciel et Marine managed just seven wins in 38 matches, losing almost half of their league games too. Nantes lost 19 of their 34 games and are also priced at 4.00 for relegation in 24/25.
With Metz losing the relegation playoff to Saint-Etienne, Le Havre will be the number-one target of the newly-promoted teams to reel in. New boss, Didier Digard, is a relative rookie, having served as an interim head coach for Nice in 2023.
The squad’s average age is just 25.1, with the club going down the route of recruiting young players with high ceilings. However, it’s a high-risk, sink-or-swim strategy. If the likes of Ismail Bouneb, Ruben Londja and Yanis Zouaoui fail to gel, another season of struggle could await, especially after the exit of veteran forward Andre Ayew this summer.