In the first-round match of the French championship, Angers will play Lille at home. Traditionally, Angers are expected to fight for survival, but this team manages to perform fairly well and secure a position somewhere in the middle of the table in advance. This is achieved thanks to a confident first half of the season. Angers usually start the championship actively, and by spring they ease off, but the points accumulated are enough for the club not to be relegated from Ligue 1. Therefore Angers in the early-season form can be a dangerous opponent. Lille will also try from the early rounds to set a high tempo in order to contend for a place in the Champions League. The potential for this lies with the Dogues; the squad is quite decent. And in recent years Lille have been doing well against Angers. In four consecutive matches the Dogues won, not conceding a single goal. Angers' previous victory in this rivalry occurred in 2023. However, the first-round game is a special story. And here the factor of coming out of pre-season training may come into play. And it turned out to be bright for both teams. Angers, for example, played extremely productively. In the last match they defeated Paris Saint‑Germain (3:2), earlier beat Lorient (2:1), lost to Le Mans (2:3) and were stronger than Créteil (2:1). Lille, on the other hand, drew with Everton (1:1) and Hamburg (2:2), and also crushed Leuven (6:3). It is clear that both teams were actively developing attacking actions first and foremost. Probably, by inertia they will continue moving in that direction and deliver a productive, high-scoring game.