It’s once again a Ligue 1 season where Paris Saint-Germain are pulling away in the league table, but two outfits are making their presence known and can even pull off an upset and headline Ligue 1 2024 news once it’s all said and done.
PSG continue their dominance in the French league, claiming four of the last five Ligue 1 titles, and are poised to win this season as well.
But with their superstar Mbappe’s impending departure from the Paris-based outfit, budding teams in the French top flight could definitely make a convincing run to swoop in and halt PSG’s dominance.
After 18 matches, OGC Nice and Stade Brestois 29 have emerged as the unlikely frontrunners to dethrone Luis Enrique’s PSG at the summit of the league standings.
OGC Nice
After 18 matchdays in the 2023–24 season, the Eagles boast the best chance for any opposition in the top flight to pose a legitimate threat to PSG in the title race. They are eight points behind with a 10-5-3 record, which is a significant improvement from their 15-13-10 record in the 2022–23 campaign.
Farioli’s surgical playstyle since his stint at Alanyaspor has been all about possession, patience, and defence. Nice sport a 4-3-3 formation for all of their Ligue 1 matches, which has proven effective against their French rivals.
Despite scoring just 19 goals in the season thus far, the least in any of the top-10 outfits in the table, Nice have conceded the least amount of goals in the entire league with just 11.
Their stellar play has translated well into the top flight as well as other domestic cups like the French Cup. They edged out Bordeaux to advance to the Round of 16, where they’re sitting pretty at the moment, patiently waiting for their next adversary.
Their almost impenetrable defence is the key to their success, and Nice’s higher-ups are making sure the team’s core will stay intact.
Two of their cornerstones, Jean-Clair Todibo and Khephren Thuram, have gotten serious interest from clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Tottenham.
Nice sporting director Florent Ghisolfi put his foot down and intends to keep the talented Jean-Clair and Thuram in Ligue 1.
“We want to have stability, and stability is keeping your best players,” Ghisolfi stated. “Jean-Clair and Khephren Thuram are definitely that. We absolutely want to keep them.”
This comes as good news for Nice fans, knowing that the club’s management is making proactive moves to enforce stability and continuity for the Eagles.
Stade Brestois 29
Following suit, Brest is also having a quiet January transfer window, opting to keep their core intact to make a push in the second half of the season. And quite frankly, their commitment to continue to work with what they have could very well be the decision-maker for their season.
The Pirates’ roster, alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s, has won four of their last five Ligue 1 matches. But Brest claim the title of the hottest club in France right now by winning four straight top-flight matches.
Brest are steadily climbing the league table by obliterating every Ligue 1 opponent to come their way since the start of December.
All of the wins they’ve garnered during their winning streak were clean-sheet wins. They defeated Metz 1-0, Nantes 2-0, Lorient 4-0, and most recently, Montpellier 2-0.
Like Nice, their dominance reached the French Cup, where they breezed through National 2 outfit Trélissac in the Round of 32. But their Round of 16 opponents will be nothing like what they’ve faced in the tournament thus far, as the defending Ligue 1 champions, PSG, will open Par des Princess and wait for their arrival.
The next matches for Eric Roy and his team will be the toughest stretch of football for the outfit, at least this SBOTOP writer thinks so. As the scorching Brest will visit PSG at Parc des Princes, then host Nice at Stade Francis-Le Blé for back-to-back heavyweight matches in Ligue 1.
But it doesn’t stop there, as Brest will once again visit PSG for their Round of 16 clash in the French Cup. That’s as tough as it gets.
Despite their stellar form and high standing in Ligue 1, Brest are just the sixth-favourite team to raise the Hexagoal by the end of the season, as per the Ligue 1 2024 betting odds.
The result of their next couple of games should definitely move the needle for Brest and will be a good indicator if Eric Roy’s club is a bonafide contender in France this season.
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