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On Friday, 22:45 Lithuanian time, the 2004/2005 "Ligue 1" season kicks off with a match between and the last three seasons' champions . This will be the only match on Friday. The rest of the first round matches will be played on Saturday.
"Ligue 1" first round:
Saint-Etienne - Monaco
Bastia - Strasbourg
Caen - Istres
Lille - Auxerre
Marseille - Bordeaux
Metz - Nantes
Rennes - Paris S.G.
Sochaux - Ajaccio
Toulouse - Lens
Before the new French championship season, almost all football specialists name the four main favorites to win the "Ligue 1" championship - "Lyon", , , and .
Lyon
The three-time champions over the past three seasons, "Lyon", are still considered the main favorites. Despite losing players like , , and in the summer, players like and have joined the team, so fans have reason to expect not only a fourth consecutive championship gold, but also a respectable performance in the UEFA Champions League.
Marseille
Looking at the team compositions, the biggest threat to "Lyon" should come from the "Marseille" club. After selling the best French footballer of last season , "Marseille" acquired players like , , , , and also Pegguy Luyindula. So considering that the Marseille club will focus all its attention on "Ligue 1" this season, as they won't participate in any European tournament, this team is a serious contender to steal the champions' laurels.
P.S.G
The capital club also failed to keep their star players this summer - left the team. However, fans are not disappointed with this club's policy, as this season they will be able to see former "Monaco" star and French national team player in their team.
Monaco
The team that shook the entire football Europe last season is this year the biggest question mark for French football fans. Having lost almost all of the main team players (Jerome Rothen, , and - author's note) over the summer, the Monaco team might seem to be just a shadow of the club that reached the UEFA Champions League final last year. However, by acquiring players like and , the club could seriously fight for a championship.
Of course, we can't overlook the other teams, including last year's League Cup winner team, the former leaders and a few years ago UEFA Champions League participants and clubs. It is also unclear what level the newly promoted teams , , and will show in "Ligue 1" this season, so all of this promises us a particularly intense and interesting season, and the EuroFootball.com team hopes that you will be with us throughout it.
