Football Season Guide

Montpellier were among the sides fighting for a European place last season, successfully taking advantage of the weakness in the traditional big clubs to seal a finish in the top half of the standings. Indeed, had the season been called off just a week earlier, they would have been in the Europa League. Unsurprisingly, there has been no significant overhaul in the squad, though they have notably lost goalkeeper Geromino Rulli, who was a strong performer. Replacing him is Basel keeper Jonas Omlin. The only other signing of note thus far has been centre forward Stephy Mavididi from Juventus. He did well at Dijon last season but is unlikely to break the partnership of Gaetan Laborde and Andy Delort, who excel in combination and are largely responsible for much of Montpellier’s goal threat. The midfield is another area of strength, with Florent Mollet and Teji Savanier both among the best central players in the league. Both are technically strong and provide a menace with their long-range shooting. Had it not been for injury, they would have made a stronger impression last term. Few players score regularly for Montpellier outside of this group of four. They typically used a 3-5-2 formation last season but they posed less of a threat than they have in the past from the wide areas as the likes of Junior Sambia, who spent time in the spring seriously ill with COVID-19, and Arnaud Souquet are not as dangerous as those who have gone before them. Souquet, however, is the more accomplished attacking player. The defence still revolves around Hilton, who will turn 43 in September but shows few signs of slowing down, and 35-year-old Daniel Congre, although the return of Nicolas Cozza from injury should add some pace to that area and free up Damien Le Tallec to move back into the midfield after featuring primarily in defence last term.