PFC to bounce back!
Oct 18, 2026
Ligue 1: Paris FC- Rennes
Rennes had to battle hard on Thursday to beat OFI Crete, needing a 91st minute goal to come from behind to win 2-1. That made the game much tougher than they wanted and they ended the fixture with 9 players who started last weekend's Ligue 1 game on the pitch. Rennes lost 4-0 at Lyon after their previous Europa League game and look vulnerable today. Paris FC have featured heavily in my notes and are looking to bounce back after a disappointing game at Lorient that they lost 1-0 after largely bossing. It is almost a year since they lost back to back and next time out after their last three defeats, they drew 1-1 at Toulouse and won at home to Brest (4-0) and PSG
(2-1) which makes fairly impressive reading . Also, during his time at Strasbourg , head coach Liam Rosenior, was 7-0-1 next game after his last eight losses and will be demanding a similar response today.
Early preseason notes on both teams below.
2.25 units Paris FC -1 ball @ 3.16 asian line.
Good luck!
Paris FC: 6-7
It has been 25 years since there was a Ligue 1 Paris derby and French football has long needed another team in the capital. It was always eventually going to be Paris FC and we have spoken a lot in recent seasons about their ambition. Since last year the majority owner has been Agache Sports which is owned by Bernard Arnault and his family, he is the chairman and CEO of LVMH and with a net worth of over $150bn he is one of the richest men in the world (top 10). Now that they are in the top flight, they want to stay and their budget this season of 120m immediately puts them 6th and half of that was said to be earmarked for transfers and that is more than 7-8 clubs have as their total operating costs! It is circa four times what most promoted clubs have at their disposal and whilst that doesn't guarantee success, it certainly makes life at the higher level a little easier, although it brings with it added pressure and levels of expectation.Obviously no one has left the club that they wanted to keep and so far they have spent just half of that quoted transfer budget on four players, a quality Brazilian CB from Porto and three players (two senior) all with top flight experience. I expect more to arrive before the window closes and they appear to be tracking some big names at what would be fancy fees for most Ligue 1 clubs.
PFC are actively negotiating to appoint former Bayern Munich executive Marco Neppe as their new technical director.The 47-year-old German, who served as Bayern’s sporting director from 2014 to 2024, has been advising the newly promoted Ligue 1 club behind the scenes since their promotion in May 2025.
Neppe was instrumental in Bayern’s signings of players like Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane and brings extensive experience to Paris FC’s ambitious project. If that comes about or not, he has been advising and shows the kind of waters that they are swimming in now. I suspect that 25/26 will be one of learning and seeing where they stand but they are very ambitious and a relegation campaign is almost unthinkable and even if it happened, I feel they would be going deep into pockets in January.
Not a bad first season in Ligue 1, they are very ambitious and they probably hoped for more, but a solid platform to build from and a cup win over PSG at the Parc des Princes will live long in the memory. Veteran head coach Antoine Kombouare took over late in the season to see the campaign out, OK, maybe not "veteran", but he has been around "forever"! He has now been replaced by Liam Rosenior who had great success at Strasbourg, before his Chelsea "nightmare". He has the young modern head coach that should provide a good fit for PFC. As I type, they have spent 75m€ on five young signings to strengthen in all areas , including Pablo Pagis ( see Lorient notes), Lassine Sinayoko who scored 12 goals for 15th placed Auxerre who only totalled 34 goals, Luca Koleosho who was on loan at PFC last season and biggest fees on CB Diego Coppola (Brighton) who also has a half season loan at the club and CM Patrick Zabi, a 19 yo DM from Reims who has huge potential. They will have a top 5-6 budget of around 130m€ and if they need to spend in January, for whatever reason, they will. Top 8 awaits, but they will be aiming higher.
Stade Rennais: 8-9
I tipped them as an improver 12 months ago.......First season in 11 that Rennes did not finish in the top 10 and within that they can boast three top 4 finishes in the last six campaigns. Things looked worse for a while, as 24 of their 41 points came in the second half of last season, but xP gave them 48 which matches those SH numbers and is 9th place level, so overall, maybe they were not so far off their usual pace as the table suggests. Their budget was 6th highest and it is one of the few in cash strapped Ligue 1 that appears to have been increased this season, seemingly by 16-17%, it is hard to be precise until full numbers have been released. Having said that, they have sold a few players (replaced them too) and at least another might depart for good money, possibly to the EPL. But hard to see any downside and I would be a little amazed were they not to finish top 8 and head coach Habib Beye who only joined at the end of the January window will have had his first off season with the squad.
Beye was sacked in February with the club 6th following four consecutive losses, which highlights their expectations. He was replaced by Franck Haise, who took Lens to the Champions League, before a less happy time at Nice, but he could not get them into the top 4 and they finished 6th, albeit only two points off third spot. However, xP gave them 14 fewer points and xGA suggested they should have conceded an additional 10 goals and have European league stage football to navigate, so an additional 8+ games. They sold young CB Jeremy Jacquet to Liverpool ( see EPL notes) for a massive fee and have used half of that to strengthen the overall squad for the increased workload. I think they will do well to match last season's 6th place.
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