The 86th edition of the French top-flight football league, also known officially as Ligue 1 Uber Eats, is set to commence on August 13th, 2023.
This season 18 teams will participate in the league for the first time since 2001 after the French football authorities voted to reduce the number of teams participating in Ligue 1 from 20 to 18.
As a result of this decision, four teams were relegated from the league in the 2022-2023 campaign.
In the 2022-23 season, Auxerre and Ajaccio were both relegated after only one year in the top flight, while Troyes was relegated after two years and Angers after eight years. As a result, they will be playing in the 2023-24 Ligue 2 season.
In their place, two teams from the French second tier Ligue 2, Metz and Le Havre, were promoted to participate in the 2023/2024 season of Ligue 1.
Today we will be profiling these newly promoted Ligue 1 sides for the 2023/24 season.
Le Havre AC
Le Havre AC, nicknamed Le club doyen, was founded in the city of the same name and is based in Normandy, the north of France.
The 129-year-old side will be returning to Ligue 1 after a 14-year absence.
They achieved promotion by finishing as champions of the French second-tier Ligue 2, amassing 75 points from 38 games.
This was the sixth time that Le Havre have won the Ligue 2. They have also won the Coupe de France once in 1959.
Le Havre will be hoping to avoid immediate relegation in the upcoming coming campaign when they face off against the best teams in the land.
Their manager Luka Elsner has only been in charge for one season, but his instant impact on Le Ciel et Marine saw them win Ligue 2 in style.
Luka will be hoping his charges can make a big splash in Ligue 1 this season and avoid relegation at the end of the campaign.
Le Harve will be planning to turn their 25,000-plus capacity Stade Oceane into an impregnable fortress as they look to maintain their top-tier league status.
FC Metz
The Maroons are back in Ligue 1 after a one-year absence following their second-place finishing in the French second tier.
Metz was able to gather 72 points from 38 matches, largely thanks to their Georgian striker Georges Mikautadze who scored 23 goals to finish as the top scorer in Ligue 2.
The North Eastern French club will be aiming to perform better in the upcoming 2023-2024 than their last time out when they were relegated.
The former Ligue 1 runners up though unlikely to challenge for the title, will be hoping to perform well enough to maintain their top-league status at the end of the season.
Manager Laszlo Boloni will be in charge when the league commences in early August and will hope to guide his charges to avoid the relegation spots.
Les Graoullys will play their home matches at the 25,636-capacity Stade Saint-Symphorien.
FC Metz has never won the French championship, but came close in 1998 with a second-place finish behind RC Lens. However, a 0-2 loss against Lens on their home field prevented them from winning the title. Nevertheless, the team has won the Coupe de France twice, in 1984 and 1988.
