Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 2026/27: Season Guide — Key Dates, Fixtures & Betting Preview

MC Alger won a third consecutive title and a tenth overall, sealing it with two matchdays to spare. Yet the season's defining story belonged to a club that finished tenth: USM Alger won the Algerian Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup. The 2026/27 campaign, Algeria's 65th top-flight season, begins on 27 August.

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 2025/26 — Results, Table & Standings Recap

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 MC Alger (C) 30 65
2 JS Saoura 30 55
3 CR Belouizdad 30 53
4 MC Oran 30 49
5 JS Kabylie 30 45
5 Olympique Akbou 30 45
7 USM Khenchela 30 44
8 ES Ben Aknoun 30 43
8 CS Constantine 30 43
10 USM Alger 30 39
10 ES Sétif 30 39
12 MB Rouissat 30 36
13 ASO Chlef 30 34
14 Paradou AC (R) 30 24
15 ES Mostaganem (R) 30 19
16 MC El Bayadh (R) 30 17

MC Alger make it three in a row

MC Alger finished on 65 points from 20 wins, five draws and five defeats, ten clear of JS Saoura, and had the title mathematically secure by matchday 28. They won it on defensive control rather than firepower: 18 goals conceded was the best record in the league, while their 41 scored was only the second-highest.

The tenth championship in club history draws them level with CR Belouizdad on the all-time list, behind JS Kabylie's 14. Their eight-match winning run was the longest of the season, and a 5-0 win at ES Mostaganem in March was the biggest away victory recorded all year.

They did it with two managers. Rhulani Mokwena, appointed in July 2025, left on 14 March 2026, with Tunisian Khaled Ben Yahia — who had won the league with the club in 2024/25 — returning the following day on a contract to June 2027.

USM Alger finish tenth and win two trophies

USM Alger took the Algerian Cup, beating CR Belouizdad in the final, then won the CAF Confederation Cup for a second time. They beat Zamalek 1-0 at the Stade du 5 Juillet in the first leg, lost by the same score in Cairo, and won 8-7 on penalties on 16 May after fourteen consecutive spot-kicks were converted. That double came from a side that finished tenth in the league on 39 points, and it earned them a record USD 4 million in winners' prize money.

  • Season in numbers: 519 goals at 2.26 per match.
  • Biggest win: CR Belouizdad 7-0 ES Mostaganem on 5 April.
  • Longest unbeaten run: USM Alger, 11 matches.
  • Longest winless run: MC El Bayadh, 14.
  • Longest losing run: Paradou AC, 9.

Paradou AC go down

Paradou finished 14th on 24 points. The club is Algeria's best-known academy operation, valued for talent production rather than league titles, and this is a significant absence from the top flight. They were relegated alongside ES Mostaganem on 19 points and MC El Bayadh on 17, the lowest total in the division.

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 Stats, Top Scorers and Season Awards 2025/26

Aymen Mahious of JS Kabylie won the Golden Boot with 14 goals in his first season at the club.

Fourteen is a low winning total by recent standards. Adil Boulbina scored 20 in 2024/25, and Mahious managed it for a side that finished fifth, 20 points behind the champions.

Ligue Professionnelle 1 Teams, Players & What's New in 2026/27

Three up, three down

The Algerian Football Federation moved to three relegation places from 2025/26, with 14th, 15th and 16th going down automatically and three clubs promoted in their place. Paradou AC, ES Mostaganem and MC El Bayadh drop to Ligue 2.

JS El Biar, US Biskra and CR Témouchent come up — US Biskra returning after a single season away.

Managers

Club Head coach Note
MC Alger Khaled Ben Yahia Contracted to June 2027; returned to pre-season on 7 July
JS Kabylie Karim Belhocine New for 2026/27; formerly assistant at Watford
JS Saoura Abdelkader Amrani Led the club to second and a Champions League return
MC Oran Hubert Velud Fourth place in 2025/26

JS Kabylie's appointment follows a difficult end to the season: German coach Josef Zinnbauer was sacked on 19 March 2026 after defeat to JS Saoura, with Rabah Bensafi taking interim charge before Belhocine arrived. Belhocine began work at Stade Hocine Aït-Ahmed on 6 July and took the squad to Aïn Draham in Tunisia for a twelve-day camp in early August.

MC Alger also restructured off the pitch, appointing Boualem Charef as sporting technical director until 2029 with a stated shift towards youth development. Their pre-season programme included a training block in Austria with fixtures against Lecce, Al Hilal and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 Key Transfers 2026/27

CR Belouizdad have been the most active club, completing six signings early in the window, including the return of defender Bouchar after a spell in Kuwait. The rebuild follows a season that brought a cup final defeat and boardroom instability.

MC Oran announced four arrivals in one day: forwards Ismaïl Saâdi from JS Saoura and Ahmed Ghennam from CR Témouchent, Gabonese forward Edlin Randy Essang-Matouti from USM Khenchela, and defender Houari Baouche from CS Constantine. It’s a direct attempt to build on fourth place.

JS Kabylie have signed Mustapha Soukkou, Abdellah Bendouma, Messala Merbah, Toufik Cherifi and Badis Bouamama for Belhocine's first season. Relegated Paradou AC have begun releasing squad members, as expected of a selling club dropping a division.

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 Games and Fixtures 2026/27

The LFP published the full calendar in July. Unlike most African leagues, Algeria's schedule is fixed and public well before kick-off.

Date Event
27–29 Aug 2026 Matchday 1 — MC Alger v MC Oran, ASO Chlef v CR Belouizdad
Matchday 2 JS Kabylie v MC Alger, Stade Hocine Aït-Ahmed
4–6 Sep / 11–13 Sep 2026 CAF Champions League first preliminary round — MC Alger v ASN Nigelec, JS Saoura v Horoya AC
16–18 Oct / 23–25 Oct 2026 CAF second preliminary round — all four Algerian clubs
27 Nov 2026 – 24 Jan 2027 CAF group stage, six matchdays
4–6 Dec 2026 Algerian Cup, round of 64
18–19 Dec 2026 Algerian Cup, round of 32
31 Dec 2026 Matchday 15 — first half of the season ends
2 Jan 2027 Algerian Super Cup: MC Alger v USM Alger
22–24 Jan 2027 Algerian Cup, round of 16
28–30 Jan 2027 Matchday 16 — second half begins
26–27 Feb 2027 Algerian Cup quarter-finals
6–7 Apr 2027 Algerian Cup semi-finals
1 May 2027 Algerian Cup final (subject to change)
27–29 May 2027 Matchday 30 — season ends

Two fixtures stand out early. MC Alger open at home to MC Oran, who finished fourth, then travel to JS Kabylie on matchday two — a trip to Tizi Ouzou against the country's most decorated club in Karim Belhocine's first competitive home match.

The Algiers derby between MC Alger and USM Alger carries extra weight this season, with the Super Cup meeting between the same two clubs falling on 2 January.

The CAF angle

Four Algerian clubs enter continental competition, and the preliminary draw was made in Cairo on 6 August. MC Alger and JS Saoura are in the Champions League; CR Belouizdad and USM Alger are in the Confederation Cup.

MC Alger open against ASN Nigelec of Niger, away in the first leg between 4 and 6 September and at home between 11 and 13 September. Get through, and they meet the winner of Rangers International of Nigeria against Sobemap of Benin. It is a kind draw, and the Doyen need it because they went out at the group stage last season.

JS Saoura return to the Champions League after seven years away and face the hardest tie of the four: Horoya AC of Guinea, at home first and in Conakry for the return.
Both Confederation Cup entrants skip the first preliminary round. USM Alger, as holders, enter at the second round against the winner between The Panthers of Equatorial Guinea and Aspac of Benin. CR Belouizdad also enter at that stage.

USM Alger's position is the interesting one. They are defending a trophy they won in Cairo while carrying a domestic record that placed them tenth, and the fixture load will test a squad that already struggled for league consistency. Their two Confederation Cup titles in four years make them Algeria's most successful continental side of the period, which sits oddly against a mid-table finish.

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 2026/27 — Who Will Win?

MC Alger. Three consecutive titles, 65 points, and the best defence in the league at 18 conceded. Khaled Ben Yahia is contracted to June 2027 and had a full pre-season, including a training block in Austria against Lecce, Al Hilal and Mamelodi Sundowns. It’s a level of preparation no domestic rival matched.

Backed by Sonatrach and playing at the 40,000-capacity Stade Ali-la-Pointe in Douera, their own ground since 2024, they have resources the rest of the league does not.
A Champions League campaign will add fixtures, but they went out at the group stage last season and know the load. They start as clear favourites.

JS Saoura. Second on 55 points and into the Champions League for the first time in seven years, sealed with a 3-1 win over CS Constantine on the final day. Based in Béchar, deep in the south-west, Abdelkader Amrani's side are outsiders of Algeria's traditional power structure and finished above CR Belouizdad, MC Oran and JS Kabylie to get there.

They have lost forward Ismaïl Saâdi to MC Oran and drawn Horoya AC, the toughest continental tie of the four Algerian clubs. Stretching a squad of their size across two competitions is the scenario that has undone previous challengers.

CR Belouizdad. Third on 53 points, level on titles with MC Alger at ten, and the most active club in the transfer market with six early signings.

They lost the Algerian Cup final to USM Alger and have been dealing with boardroom instability. If the recruitment settles, a squad that has not won the league since 2022/23, they are the most likely to close a twelve-point gap.

USM Alger. Tenth in the league, but holders of the Algerian Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup.

Ranking them by league position alone understates a squad that beat Zamalek over two legs. Ranking them by trophies overstates a side that finished 26 points behind the champions. The honest read is a cup team that has not solved league consistency.

Our pick: MC Alger. A ten-point margin, continuity in the dugout and the strongest pre-season in the country make a fourth consecutive title the likeliest outcome, with CR Belouizdad the most credible challenger.

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 Relegation Battle — Who Goes Down?

Three clubs go down — 14th, 15th and 16th — under the format the Algerian Football Federation introduced in 2025/26. Last season the cut-off was harsh: Paradou AC went down on 24 points, ten adrift of ASO Chlef in 13th.

ASO Chlef finished 13th on 34 points and survived by ten. That margin flatters a season of managerial churn, and they open the new campaign at home to CR Belouizdad.

MB Rouissat were 12th on 36 points in their first top-flight season. Second seasons are frequently harder than first ones, once opponents have a full year of data.

The three promoted clubs carry the usual risk. US Biskra have top-flight experience and were relegated only in 2024/25, which makes them better equipped than most. JS El Biar and CR Témouchent are the less proven pair, and CR Témouchent have already lost forward Ahmed Ghennam to MC Oran before kicking a ball.

Last season's bottom three were cut adrift early; the gap between 13th and 14th was ten points, which suggests the Algerian relegation market tends to resolve well before the final matchday.