Football Season Guide

Troyes won promotion back to Ligue 1 in convincing style last season as they romped to the second-tier title in ultimately convincing style by 5 points. The difference between them and their rivals was their scoring power. They netted a league-high 60 times while they also showed a capacity to bounce back from losing 4 successive games in January. ESTAC have notably been depleted with the loss of a couple of vital players. Mathys Detourbet was strong on the wing last season but has largely gone for a big fee due to his potential, while Martin Adeline has moved to Hamburg, which is arguably a bigger immediately problem. Adeline scored 10 goals last season while they have also lost 18-goal Tawfik Bentayeb. The City Football Group has not even made an attempt to replace this attacking power, with just 2 additions made. Troyes have enjoyed a 6-match undefeated run in pre-season that can boost spirits before the start of the campaign, even if their 4 wins have come against lower-league opponents. A 1-1 draw with Auxerre represents their only against Ligue 1 opponents. Troyes’ biggest strength is the fact that much of this team played together last year. The squad looks best at the back, where Junior Diaz could have a key role to play after impressing with Brest in Ligue 1 last season. They also promise to be solid through the heart of the midfield. Having lost 28 goals in Adeline and Bentayeb without an outright attacker coming in to replace them, ESTAC look obviously weaker going forward than they were last term at a lower level. While there is an even spread of goals elsewhere in the squad, lacking a potent threat could really harm them.