We preview week 32 of the 2017/18 French Ligue 1 season set to get underway on Friday 6 March.
Let’s be honest… with a 17-point lead at the top of the standings PSG have all but regained their league title after losing out against Monaco last season. The domestic double will be scant consolation after a last 16 exit from the Champions League, however.
Looking ahead to this week, a number of benign fixtures are bookended by St-Etienne vs PSG and Marseille vs Montpellier. So without harping on too much, let’s get to it!
Friday 6 March
St-Etienne 7/1
Draw 9/2
PSG 7/20
St-Etienne have been in fine form of late going nine league encounters without tasting defeat. This period of results has seen them cement their place in top half of the table. They’ll look to finish the season strongly and a good result against the runaway league leaders will stand them in good stead going into the home straight.
PSG claimed the Coupe de la Ligue this weekend with a magnificent 3-0 victory of Monaco at the weekend down in Bordeaux. They’ve won all but one of their last 15 league matches with the trend looking set to continue at the weekend. PSG are simply too good for this division and should have the measure of St-Etienne.
Saturday 7 March
Monaco 11/20
Draw 32/10
Nantes 5/1
The men from the Principality would have been disappointed not have put up more of a fight in the French Cup final at the weekend as they were rolled over at the weekend in the south of France. They do need to be a bit careful going into the last few matches of the season. A wobble now could see them fall out of the Champions League places.
All of the good work that Nantes did in the first three quarters of the season has been undone by a dreadful slump in recent weeks. They’ve dropped down to eighth in the standings after one win in their last eight fixtures. Monaco all day here – big value at 11/20.
Amiens 27/20
Draw 21/10
Caen 9/4
Amiens have put together a decent little run of late and have opened up a small gap between themselves and the drop zone. Draws against Dijon and Amiens was followed up by a vital 1-0 away win over fellow relegation scrappers, Lille.
Caen have endured an alarming loss of form of late losing three on the spin. Those three defeats against Lyon, Angers and Montpellier would have been especially frustrating as their previous two encounters saw them beat Lyon in the cup before cruising past Strasbourg in the league. I reckon Amiens should be too strong for Caen here and represent a good value bet at 27/20.
Toulouse 19/20
Draw 24/10
Dijon 3/1
Toulouse are flirting dangerously with the drop zone having gone seven matches without a win. That said, they have drawn four of those matches. So the points are still trickling in but a big push is now required to survive the drop.
They’ll be pretty confident heading into their tie with Dijon. Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men have not been in the best form of late, going four matches without a victory. They were soundly beaten last week by Marseille after drawing three consecutive ties against St-Etienne, Amiens and Montpellier. The draw looks to be the most likely result here.
Angers 8/10
Draw 5/2
Strasbourg 7/2
Angers have enjoyed a bit of an upturn in their form of late and have opened what can be called a comfortable six-point gap between themselves and Troyes in 18th-place. They’ll be full of confidence following a magnificent 3-0 over Caen last time out and will look to repeat the trick against Strasbourg.
The visitors have been indifferent of late and appear to be slipping closer and closer to the drop zone every week. They’ve not got any real form to work with and will do well to steal a draw against in-form Angers. Home win all the way here.
Guingamp 17/20
Draw 24/10
Troyes 24/10
Guingamp surprised many last time out as they grabbed a 2-1 over Bordeaux after suffering three-straight defeats which were preceded by a 2-2 draw with bottom side Metz.
In terms of the form table over the last six matches, Troyes find themselves bottom with two points and a -7 goal difference. This doesn’t make for pretty reading, especially considering they currently occupy the play-off / relegation place. The hosts will be full of confidence following a win over a very strong Bordeaux outfit. 17/20 looks a great price here, get on!
Bordeaux 13/20
Draw 26/10
Lille 17/4
Lille have been rubbish this season and aren’t likely to find any joy away at Bordeaux. The home win is definitely one to add to all of your multiples this week – at 13/20 it’ll definitely add quite a bit of value to your five-fold.
Sunday 8 March
Nice 19/20
Draw 24/10
Stade Rennais 29/10
Both sides here continue to impress heading into the final few encounters of the season. They sit fourth and fifth on the six-match form table respectively. The hosts have enjoyed three wins and a loss in their previous four matches with that defeat coming against red-hot PSG.
Stade Rennais haven’t tasted defeat in their last six matches, winning four and drawing two as they look to finish the season strong. In that time they’ve beaten Lyon, Troyes, Amiens and Bordeaux while drawing against Caen and St-Etienne. During the same period they scored 11 and conceded just three. Take Stade Rennais on the double chance at 15/20.
Metz 47/10 | Draw 24/10 | Lyon 5/10
Another one you don’t really need to read too much into here. Metz are dead and buried at the bottom of the standings while Lyon look resurgent after their mid-season wobble. You simply can’t go wrong backing the away team here at 5/10.
Marseille 11/20
Draw 31/10
Montpellier 47/10
We round off the week’s action with what should be a cracking tie as Marseille prepare to host Montpellier. Marseille haven’t been in the best touch of late, losing two, winning two and drawing one of their last five matches. Sill, those two defeats came against PSG and Lyon. They will have to be at their mercurial best this weekend if they are to crack one of the best defences in the league.
Montpellier finally put an end to their remarkable run of five draws after winning 3-1 away at Caen in the week. They boast the best defence in the league behind PSG and will look to frustrate their opposition before hitting them on the break and set pieces. Tough one to call this but I can definitely see it ending in a draw. Big value on the result at 31/10.
Treble tipped at 5.37/1
Monaco win @ 11/20
Amiens win @ 27/20
Stade Rennais win / draw 15/20
