The bumpy road to Ligue 1: A play-off journey

The regular Ligue 2 season concluded with Lorient and Paris FC securing automatic promotion. Both clubs will compete in Ligue 1 during the 2025/26 campaign. However, there may yet be a third team joining them via a distinctly unusual play-off system.

This structure, almost unrivalled across European football, involves the 3rd, 4th, and 5th-placed sides from Ligue 2, along with the team that ends the Ligue 1 season in 16th place.

The three second-tier contenders must first face each other to determine who will reach the final play-off tie against the top-flight outfit, with a slight advantage afforded to the team finishing 3rd.

Proceedings begin with a one-off quarter-final between the 4th-placed side, Dunkerque, and 5th-placed Guingamp, to be held at Dunkerque's home ground. Losers are eliminated, while the winners advance to the semi-final.

Awaiting in that semi-final is 3rd-placed Metz, who will host the tie, again over a single leg. The winner of that clash will progress to the final play-off round – a two-legged affair against the 16th-placed Ligue 1 side, currently expected to be one of Saint-Etienne, Le Havre, Nantes and Reims.

This final tie is played over two legs, with the return fixture hosted by the Ligue 1 side. The victors will claim a place in the 2025/26 Ligue 1 season. Last year, Saint-Etienne – then a Ligue 2 club – triumphed in this high-stakes showdown, condemning Metz to relegation. Will history repeat itself this time around?