Ligue 1 Half-Term Report: Evaluating Every Team's Season so Far

Ligue 1 will break for Christmas after this weekend's round of games, and already a clear picture is emerging at both the top and the bottom.

Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco are unsurprisingly at the forefront of the title race, while the likes of Sochaux, Ajaccio and Valenciennes are struggling.

Still, there have been plenty of surprises, with a number of teams perhaps achieving more than many had expected them to.

There is still a long way to go in the 2013-14 campaign, but it is never too early to evaluate what has happened so far.

Here are the midseason grades for every Ligue 1 team at the halfway point.

A: Excellent

PSG are in the midst of an unbelievable season in both domestic and European competition.

Laurent Blanc's men have lost just once in Ligue 1 this term and have not tasted defeat in front of their home fans since November 2012.

Strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani have combined for 26 league goals, and they, along with the rest of their team-mates, are well worthy of an A grade.

PSG's title rivals Monaco also earn top marks for a superb return to the top flight.

Monaco are a mere two points adrift of the capital club. Although many expected them to be among the league's best following a big-spending transfer window, Claudio Ranieri's side's progress has been impressive.

There are concerns around the long-term future of Radamel Falcao—nine league goals so far—but there can be no doubt that the principality club are currently performing at a very high level.

Surprise contenders Lille, who are just four points behind PSG, earn the highest grade after their renaissance under Rene Girard, once again in the title picture after guiding Montpellier to triumph in 2011-12.

Bordeaux—winners of four straight league games—have eyes on a top-three berth and are fully deserving of an A grade, as are Michel Der Zakarian's Nantes, who, after 18 games, are gunning for a European berth in the first season back in Ligue 1 following promotion last campaign.

B: Impressive

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Many expected Reims to struggle after comfortably avoiding relegation in the 2012-13 campaign.

However, rather than suffering from the dreaded "second-season syndrome," Hubert Fournier's men have improved and look likely to go into the winter break inside the top half.

Reims' home performances have been the key to their relative success. The club have lost only twice at the Stade Auguste Bonal and should be able to ensure their top-flight status for another year if they are able to carry their form into the second half of the season.

Saint-Etienne are two places above Reims. While their showings have not been as strong as those that saw them finish narrowly outside the Champions League places in the previous campaign, Christophe Galtier's side are still in a strong position to make a run at a return to the Europa League.

Lorient appeared to be on their way to a fight against the drop following their 4-0 loss to PSG back at the beginning of November. However, the Brittany club have gone six league games without defeat since that game. 

Striker Vincent Aboubakar has played a pivotal role in their last five consecutive wins—netting five goals—and manager Christian Gourcuff will be hoping the Cameroon international can keep scoring as his side aim to notch further wins in the new year.

The final B grade goes to Lorient's Brittany rivals Guingamp, who, much like Nantes, have subverted expectations of a battle against the drop.

Jocelyn Gourvennec's outfit are 12 points clear of the relegation zone, but they cannot afford to be complacent over their Ligue 1 future, particularly after three league games without a win.

C: Average

Toulouse are the epitome of a C-grade team in Ligue 1 and once again look set for another average season destined to end in mid-table mediocrity.

La Tefece struggled for much of the 2012-13 campaign, but manager Alain Casanova has at least turned them into a relatively solid outfit. The 52-year-old employs a 3-5-2 system, which has made his side relatively harder to break down.

Casanova's side are unbeaten in their last four league games, and if their form so far is any indicator, Toulouse should have no issue staying in the division.

Bastia have lost only one league game in front of their home fans, but their disappointing away form will likely temper their hopes of securing a top-half finish.

Meanwhile, Evian appear poised for another battle against relegation, although, with their limited budget and the losses of strikers Yannick Sagbo and Saber Khelifa, Pascal Dupraz's side could be considered to be in a strong position nine points above the drop zone.

D: Disappointing

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It could be considered quite harsh to label a team that sits sixth in Ligue 1 as "disappointing."

However, to deem Marseille's season satisfactory would be extremely misleading and contrary to what the majority of their fans believe at this point.

Marseille did look to be turning a corner following two straight wins at the end of November, but they were followed up with consecutive defeats against Lille and Nantes.

Those losses, along with a disastrous Champions League campaign, saw Elie Baup sacked as manager at OM, and the Provence club will now need to find an adequate replacement if they are to avoid a wasted campaign.

Similarly, Lyon have failed to set the league alight in 2013-14, although injuries could be blamed for their below-par showings thus far.

Remi Garde's men have begun to turn things around in the latter half of the year, losing just one of their last seven league outings and sitting just inside the top half.

Rennes made a strong start to life under former Real Sociedad boss Philippe Montanier, suffering one defeat in their first seven games, but they have since won only three games despite a talented team that features wingers Romain Alessandrini and Foued Kadir.

F: Failure

Nice surprised everybody last season with their fourth-place finish, but Claude Puel's men now sit 15th in the table and appear set for an underwhelming mid-table finish.

A lack of goals has been the main problem for the Cote d'Azur club. Nice have scored only 15 times in the league so far, with top scorer Dario Cvitanich contributing seven of those.

Montpellier have fared even worse than Nice, and their hopes now rest on the managerial prowess of Rolland Courbis, in charge for the second time following the dismissal of Jean Fernandez.

After just two wins all season, Montpellier will need a significant revival if they are to pull away from the relegation zone and the danger of dropping into Ligue 2 just two seasons after winning the title.

But Montpellier could well be saved by the ineptitude of the bottom three—Valenciennes, Ajaccio, and Sochaux—who face a huge battle if they are to avoid the ignominy of demotion to the second tier.

All three have made managerial changes as a result of their dreadful starts to the season, but the likes of Ariel Jacobs (Valenciennes) and Herve Renard (Sochaux) have failed to inspire their side to any kind of recovery.