Football Season Guide

Metz relegated from Ligue 1 last season after winning only 3 matches all season. These all came in the space of 10 days in the autumn, so the season as a whole was wretched. Currently on a 23-game winless run in the league. Although they took action to change coach last season, they have done so again in the summer, with Luc Holtz taking command. Limited experience in club coaching, having worked in Germany’s third tier last season. Squad has been seriously trimmed, with numerous experienced players leaving, most notably Sadibou Sane, Idrissa Gueye, Terry Yegbe and Jean-Philippe Gbamin. Coming into the season match tested after playing 7 friendly matches with one more to come. Have been scoring plenty of goals against reasonable opposition, which bodes well. Key man Gauthier Hein in especially good form. Biggest strength is that they are stacked with attacking talent proven at this level. Hein has excelled in Ligue 2 previously and managed 15 goal contribution in 29 Ligue 1 games last term. When it comes to weaknesses, midfield depth looks alarmingly thin, even if the quality is strong otherwise. The defence and goalkeepers last season were a source of innumerable weak errors, with the issue in goal not addressed in the summer.