Ligue 1 new season preview: Paris won the championship with unbeaten rush, 4 derby games, 6 teams compete for a seat in the Champions League

On August 15, the 2025-26 Ligue 1 officially kicked off. Paris Saint-Germain, with a total value of 1.2 billion euros, has almost no suspense to win the championship. Marseille, Monaco, Nice and Lille started the battle for runner-up and Champions League qualification.

【5-winning champion Paris is the sword of Ligue 1 and the 5th consecutive win]

In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain is the undisputed overlord. According to the German transfer valuation, Paris Saint-Germain has a total value of 1.2 billion euros, while Monaco, ranked second, has only 410 million euros, and Marseille, ranked third, has a total value of 350 million euros. Whether in terms of paper strength or experience, Paris Saint-Germain defeated the other 17 teams in Ligue 1.

In the final of the European Super Cup, Paris defeated Tottenham Hotspur in a penalty shootout and won the European Super Cup championship for the first time in history. This also means that Enrique's team has been crowned the 5-year champions of the year: French Super League Cup, French Ligue 1, French Cup, European Cup, and European Super League Cup. In the past four seasons, Paris Saint-Germain has been the Ligue 1 champions. In the 2025-26 season, Paris Saint-Germain's only goal is to dominate Ligue 1 for five consecutive times. If you don't win the championship, you will fail.

Paris Saint-Germain's championship is not very suspenseful. What the outside world expects is whether Paris Saint-Germain can dominate with an unbeaten record? In the 2024-25 season, Paris Saint-Germain won 23 wins and 5 draws in 28 rounds of Ligue 1, winning the championship 6 rounds ahead of schedule. However, in the last 6 rounds, Paris Saint-Germain was obviously relaxed and ended with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, failing to create an unbeaten championship myth. In the 88-year history of Ligue 1, there has never been a season-invincible teacher.

Today's Paris Saint-Germain has almost impeccable style of lineup. Dembele, Kvaratshelia and Douai form a trident, and Balcola, Gonzalo Ramos and Li Gangren are on the bench. Fabian Ruiz, Vitinia and Joao Neves' midfielders have both control, technology, oppression and forward penetration, and no loopholes are found. The newly introduced goalkeeper Shevalier and central defender Bazarni are also powerful players.

[6 teams fighting fiercely for Champions League seats]

Against the backdrop of Paris Saint-Germain's domination of Ligue 1, other teams can only compete for the runner-up. The top 3 Ligue 1 passes through the Champions League, and the fourth place won the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. The six teams, Marseille, Monaco, Nice, Lille, Lyon and Strasbourg, launched a fierce Champions League seat battle.

Last season's runner-up in the French Ligue 1 Marseille, with a major reshuffle this summer, with Hoyber, Via Jr., Aubameyang and Paishan joining; Monaco introduces central defender Dell, rents Barcelona striker Fati and signing Pogba; Strasbourg, ranked 7th in the French Ligue 1 this summer, spent 10 million euros to introduce 10 players, showing its ambition to compete for the Champions League qualification.

【Paris Grand 4 Focus Derby】

In the 2024-25 season, Paris FC was successfully upgraded and returned to Ligue 1 after 46 years. This means that there will be a Paris derby in the new season of Ligue 1. For Paris Saint-Germain, there are 4 focus derby games this season: Paris Saint-Germain vs Marseille's French national derby, Paris Saint-Germain vs Paris FC's Paris derby. The derby between Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC is the real neighbor derby. The Jean-Boen Stadium in Paris FC is only a wall away from the Princes Stadium, with a walking distance of 44 meters. The Paris derby in the new season is also worthy of fans' expectations.

【Relegation journey of 3 newly promoted teams】

Lorient, Paris FC, and Metz are the new faces in the 2025-26 season. For them, while they are promoted to Ligue 1, they also set strategic goals: relegation. Last season, the relegation teams in Ligue 1 will also start the battle to defend the relegation again.