The Euro Preview: France’s Ligue 1 kicks off with PSG title favorites again

Ligue 1 kicks off on Friday with PSG title favorites again, while their rivals need to hit the ground running if they are to have any hope of winning it all.

Ligue 1

France’s top flight kicks off on Friday (along with the Premier League) as Europe’s top five domestic competitions finally open the curtain on the season. Following a truncated summer as a result of the World Cup, there should be interest in Ligue 1 this season as the spotlight is placed on French soccer. The continent’s three other major leagues (Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga) all get underway in the coming weeks.

While France captured the World Cup in Russia, don’t expect the domestic race to be too exciting. Many of the stars on that France team will again be protagonists on the club level over the next nine months. That list is led by PSG’s 19-year-old starlet Kylian Mbappe. Paris Saint-German cruised to last year’s French title with a 13-point lead over Monaco. They also featured the league’s top scorer in Edinson Cavani (with 28 goals) and Neymar. Over the summer, the team added legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to an already star-studded roster.

With manager Thomas Tuchel from Borussia Dortmund to make his league debut Sunday when PSG host Caen, expect the French giants to get off to a strong start and dominate domestically once again this season. While Monaco, Marsellie and Lyon have all gotten stronger this summer, PSG remain the team to beat. They proved it again last week by demolishing Monaco to win the French SuperCup.

In the other big games, Marseille host Toulouse to open the season on Friday, while Monaco travel to Nantes the following day. On Sunday, Lyon host newly-promoted Amiens, who clinched a spot in Ligue 1 at the end of last season on the final play of the game.

Scottish Premiership

Scotland’s top flight opened last weekend with no big surprises as Celtic look to once again capture the title. The biggest storyline this season will be whether Rangers, under new manager Steven Gerrard, can finally slam the brakes on such dominance.

The arrival of the former Liverpool captain at Ibrox adds a spotlight and renewed interest to the Scottish Premiership not seen in decades. It was a 93rd-minute goal by Aberdeen that denied Gerrard and a 10-man Rangers the win in his first league match in charge. The season opener ended 1-1.

Matchday 2 fixtures include Rangers hosting St. Mirren on Sunday, while Celtic play on the road the previous day against Hearts. Aberdeen, a third team that could contend for the league title, also play a road game on Saturday against Dundee.

Eredivisie

The Dutch first division also starts on Friday with defending champion PSV Eindhoven taking on Utrecht on Saturday at home. The Eredivisie, once a major domestic competition, has become a hotbed of youth development in recent years. The club with the biggest tradition in this regard is Ajax, who along with Feyenoord, are favored to compete against PSV, owned by technology giant Phillips, for the title this season.

Indeed, the focus will be on Ajax this season, a team with a glorious past and tradition but one that haven’t won any silverware in five years. The Amsterdam-based club are teeming with talented youngsters, like 21-year-old midfielder Frenkie de Jong. Whether these players can do enough to help Ajax win the league remains to be seen.

Ajax host Heracles, while Feyenoord play at De Graafschap, both on Saturday.