Ligue 1 Matchday 4 Preview, September 11-13
Matchday 3 reshaped the picture more sharply than expected. Monaco won 2-1 at the Parc des Princes after coming from behind following Marquinhos' goal and remain the only team in the league with a 100% record. PSG have collected just two points from a possible nine. It is the Parisians' worst start in Ligue 1 for 19 years, and the champions now travel to Brest in search of their first win. The top of the table has changed quickly too: Paris are second after Lassine Sinayoko's hat-trick at the Velodrome secured a 3-2 victory, and in Matchday 4 they host Lyon, who have the same number of points. The biggest collapse of the round came in Troyes, where Strasbourg scored six against a team that had conceded only once before then.
Rennes vs Marseille
The round opens on Friday evening, with the hosts still unbeaten in the league. At Angers, Franck Haise's side settled matters in the opening 20 minutes: Przemyslaw Frankowski opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and in the 17th home defender Jordan Lefort turned the ball into his own net in a 2-1 win. Marseille arrive at Roazhon Park in the opposite mood, after two consecutive defeats and sitting tenth. Amine Gouiri's brace in the derby with Paris showed that Bruno Génésio's side have no major problems in attack. Five goals conceded over two matches, however, explain why they are still on three points.
Match link:
Strasbourg vs Monaco
This is the fixture featuring the sharpest change of direction for both teams. Strasbourg began the season with a 0-4 defeat to Marseille, then beat Lens 2-1. At Troyes, they followed that with a six-goal rout (6-2), with four of the goals coming in the final 40 minutes. Hugo Oliveira's young side have collected six points and unexpectedly moved into the top half. Monaco, meanwhile, remain perfect: nine points from nine, a third straight victory and a major result in Paris, where Aleksandr Golovin set up Stanis Idumbo for the winning goal in the 72nd minute.
Match link:
Auxerre vs Nice
This is the only pairing of the round in which both teams are in the bottom third of the table. Auxerre remain the only club in the league without a point: after defeats to Lens and Angers, Will Still's side also lost 1-3 in Lyon, where Cameron Archer's 42nd-minute goal changed nothing. Nice are moving slightly faster, but not by much: two points from three rounds and 15th place. Olivier Pantaloni's team earned a 1-1 home draw with newly promoted Le Mans thanks to Elye Wahi, who rescued the result just before half-time. For both teams, this is the first match of the season where defeat would mean more than simply dropping points — it would confirm that there is a genuine problem.
Match link:
Le Havre vs Angers
The two teams have four points between them. Le Havre are 16th and made life difficult for themselves in Matchday 3: Junior Mwanga was sent off for a rough challenge before half-time against Brest, after which Didier Digard's side had to finish with ten men and lost 1-2. Angers were unable to build on their only win: after beating Auxerre convincingly in the previous round, Stéphane Gilli's team conceded twice in eight minutes against Rennes and lost 1-2 at home. Both clubs already understand that their fight for survival has begun in September rather than May.
Match link:
Lorient vs Toulouse
Lorient finally got moving, and in the most effective way possible: Mamadou Kone's only goal in the 54th minute delivered a 1-0 win at Lens and the first three points of the season. Alexandre Dujeux's side climbed into mid-table and now face opponents whose situation is noticeably worse. Toulouse have taken just one point and failed to score in two of their three matches: after a 2-2 draw at Brest, Jens Berthel Askou's team lost 0-1 at home to Lille. The Dane is building the team around organisation, and defensively they look respectable. Without goals, however, that model does not produce points.
Match link:
Paris vs Lyon
The headline fixture of the round brings together two teams level on seven points. Paris produced their best performance of the season away from home: Lassine Sinayoko's hat-trick at the Velodrome secured a 3-2 victory over Marseille and second place in the table. Lyon are close behind and remain unbeaten in the league: Paulo Fonseca's side had effectively settled their 3-1 win over Auxerre by the 53rd minute through goals from Felix Bacher, Zaki Atekame and Ernest Nuamah. Whichever team emerges from this meeting closer to Monaco in the standings will take the status of the leaders' main challenger.
Match link:
Lille vs Troyes
Les Dogues have quietly moved into the leading group: seven points, no defeats and a fresh 1-0 win in Toulouse, where summer signing Ayase Ueda scored his first goal for the club. Davide Ancelotti now has a good opportunity to consolidate that position because the visitors arrive after their most painful match of the season. Troyes had conceded only one goal before Matchday 3, then shipped six at home to Strasbourg in a 2-6 defeat, four of them in the second half. They will find out immediately at the Pierre-Mauroy whether that collapse was a one-off or a warning sign.
Match link:
Le Mans vs Lens
Lens have already gone from the main revelation of the opening weeks to a team in free fall. After beating PSG in the Super Cup and thrashing Auxerre 5-2, Dino Toppmöller's side lost 1-2 in Strasbourg, then failed to score at home against Lorient in a 0-1 defeat and remain on three points. Le Mans are 13th with two points, but the newcomers have already shown they know how to grind out a result: their 1-1 draw at Nice came through Adil Bourabaa's early goal in the 13th minute and compact defending afterwards. At Leon-Bollee, Lens will have to find a way through exactly that kind of football.
Match link:
Brest vs PSG
This is the main intrigue of the round. The reigning champions have two points from a possible nine, their worst Ligue 1 start in 19 years. They have already lost 1-2 at home to Monaco despite taking the lead through Marquinhos in the 31st minute. The club is still backing stability: Luis Enrique has signed a new contract worth around €20 million per year, so the league crisis has had no effect on the coach's position. Brest, meanwhile, look like one of the most underrated teams of the opening weeks: five points, two draws and a 2-1 win at Le Havre thanks to a Kamory Doumbia brace. For Julien Lachuer's side, this is a rare opportunity. It is not often that they get to host PSG while the Parisians are still searching for their first league win.
Match link:
Matchday 4 Summary
Matchday 4 is particularly interesting because it will test two extremes at once. Monaco, still with a 100% record, travel to Strasbourg, who in the space of two weeks have gone from whipping boys to a team capable of scoring six goals in a match. PSG, with only two points, head to Brest, where the hosts are still unbeaten this season. Between those two poles is a direct battle to become the leaders' main challenger: Paris and Lyon enter their head-to-head meeting level on seven points. At the bottom, Auxerre host Nice in a match that already looks like a turning point for both clubs. Weigh the fixture load and current form carefully before choosing your bets; our resources can help: https://scores24.live/en/sportbooks-fr
FAQ
When will Ligue 1 Matchday 4 in 2026/2027 take place?
The fourth round of the French championship will be played from September 11 to 13, 2026.
Which match is the headline fixture of Ligue 1 Matchday 4 in the 2026/27 season?
The main game of the round will be Paris vs Lyon at Stade Jean-Bouin, with both teams entering the match on seven points. Brest vs PSG and Strasbourg vs Monaco are no less intriguing.
Who leads Ligue 1 after Matchday 3?
Monaco are alone at the top with nine points and are the only team in the league to have won all three opening matches.
Who is bottom of Ligue 1 after Matchday 3?
Auxerre are bottom of the table and are the only club in the league without a point after three rounds.
