The French second division is better known as Ligue 2 and consists of 20 teams. A regular season lasts 380 games, plus a few post-season games for teams facing promotion or relegation playoffs. From the 2024/25 season onwards, Ligue 2 will be reduced down to 18 teams.

Betting on the Ligue 2 championship

The teams that finish first and second in Ligue 2 at the end of the season receive automatic promotion to Ligue 1. Throughout the season, place your Ligue 1 sports bets with bwin. Between the third, fourth, and fifth-placed teams, playoff matches take place with the winners facing a Ligue 1 team for a chance to join the French football elite.

Since its introduction in 2016, the Ligue 1 / Ligue 2 play-offs are a 2-leg affair, with the Ligue 2 club having the advantage of playing the first game at home before the return match at the home ground of the Ligue 1 side.

At the end of season standings, the bottom three teams go straight down to the National, and are replaced by three teams going the other way. Make bets on third-division football in France on our sports betting platform.

A descent can be very undesirable since players in the National League no longer have the status of professional players.

Who dominates the second division?

Ligue 2 is known to depend predominantly on physical factors such as the athletic ability of the players — whether it is strength or speed.

New teams entering this division often find it difficult to adapt in the first few games of the competition. Teams that have just moved down a level find it especially hard as they are not used to fighting for every ball.

Ligue 2 remains a great stepping stone for young players to gain playing time, while the Ligue 1 spots are reserved for experienced players.

Recommended betting on Ligue 2

The most common scores in Ligue 2 are one-goal wins (1-0 and 0-1) and draws (0-0 and 1-1). With an average of 2.16 goals, the number of goals is very low for the second division championship.

A recommended bet is a match with less than 2.5 goals. This is one of the lowest-scoring leagues in Europe. Only 38% of the games end in a scoreline with more than 2.5 goals in Ligue 2. Make your football bets on all competitions available at bwin.