Ligue 1 braced for abnormal gameweek | OneFootball

The Ligue 1 calendar has been less hectic this season. The reduction of the number of teams within France’s top flight, from 20 to 18, has seen the amount of games per gameweek reduced from 10 to 9, whilst there are also four fewer matchdays. However, Gameweek 29, which gets underway with FC Metz v RC Lens on Friday night, will be particularly light.

Three games have been postponed until Wednesday 24th April. Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique de Marseille, Lille OSC, AS Monaco, OGC Nice and FC Lorient will all not play this weekend. The reason? An initiative brought in by the LFP – the organisation that runs Ligue 1 – designed to bolster French sides’ chances of progression in their respective European competitions.

The first legs of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League all took place this week. All French sides lost by a one-goal margin (PSG 2-3 Barcelona, Benfica 2-1 Marseille, Aston Villa 2-1 Lille), however, all three French teams will now benefit from a one-week break. Refreshed and revitalised PSG, Marseille and Lille will all be hoping to overturn their respective deficits in the return leg next week. However, their absence from Ligue 1 action will make for an abnormal weekend of French football, with only six games taking place.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle