**Troyes and Le Mans, the two sides promoted from Ligue 2, enter the 2026-27 campaign as the clearest relegation candidates.** Both lack recent top-flight experience—Troyes returns after three years and Le Mans after sixteen—and have operated with modest summer transfer budgets relative to established clubs. Pre-season models and analysts consistently flag them alongside Angers and Le Havre as the most vulnerable, citing defensive vulnerabilities, limited squad depth, and the typical adjustment difficulties for newly promoted sides. Early-season results and the coming weeks of fixtures will test whether these clubs can stabilize or whether further reinforcement is needed to avoid an immediate return to Ligue 2.