The Ligue 1 action remains as hot as ever, with a pivotal title race match in first place PSG taking on second-place Lille, and Olympique Lyonnais and Monaco look to keep pressure on the log leaders just three and four points respectively off the top of the table. Every game is now a must-win for all four of these teams, and any slip in points will mean dropping out of contention for the Hexagoal trophy.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Saturday 3 April
Monaco 4/10
Draw 37/10
Metz 6/1
Monaco have taken their numerical odds of winning the league into their stride and put four goals against St. Etienne in their last Ligue 1 outing. Head coach Niko Kovac has proved his worth this season since joining Monaco in July, with attacking football being the key focus scoring 60 goals in the league leaving his team second only to Paris-Saint Germain in the ‘goals for’ department. Metz are ninth on the log and I do not see much coming from them without winning a game in the league for the month of March conceding six goals and scoring just three. Monaco and Over 2.5 Goals at 5/4 is the way to go.
Paris Saint-Germain 11/20
Draw 3/1
Lille 46/10
The game of the season and possibly the game to decide this season’s Ligue 1 Champions will take place this Saturday, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Lille to Le Parc des Princes. These teams have faced each other 50 times in all competitions, with PSG taking home 26 wins, and Lille on 12, with a total of 12 draws between the two.
Lille will look to bounce back after a 3-0 away defeat at the hands of PSG, who knocked them out of the Coupe de France 3 weeks prior to this encounter. Les Douges are even on 63 points with the French giants, and the win could turn out to be the sweetest revenge. Christopher Galtier will be high on confidence when he welcomes back their best player from international duty, Burak Yilmaz, who has shone brightly in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, obtaining his first international hattrick.
Since taking the reins in January of this year, Mauricio Pochettino has amassed 14 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws, in all competitions, and taken the Parisians to the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. After this matchup with Lille, PSG travel to the Allianz Arena to take on defending Champions Bayern Munich. With back-to-back high stakes clashes for Pochettino, and his players arriving back from international break, we could see numerous squad rotation options being used. Back the defending champions at 11/20.
Lens 31/10
Draw 29/10
Lyon 15/20
Closing the curtains on Saturday’s Ligue 1 fixtures Lyon looks to keep pressure on the top of the league when they travel to fifth-place Lens. Lyon are three points from drawing level with table toppers Lille and PSG. Coach Rudi Garcia missed a golden opportunity to take his team to the top of the table when they faced PSG in a 2-4 home defeat.
First preference attacking midfielder, Houssem Aouar, was expected to be side-lined until early April, but we could see him make a cameo appearance for this weekend’s encounter. Lens are on a good run of form, aside from their 3-2 away defeat in the Coupe de France to National 1 League team, Red Star. Sang et Or are on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the league, winning four, and drawing five times. Back Lyon to steal the away win at 15/20.
Sunday 4 April
Angers 31/20
Draw 9/4
Montpellier 18/10
Angers’ form has been poor with only one win in their last five Ligue 1 matches, including three stalemates and a defeat. Senegalese attacker Sada Thioub is still out and his fellow African footballer Stephane Bahoken can be expected back in the starting line-up. Montpellier goes into this match unbeaten in 10 matches in all competitions, winning six and drawing four. Coach Michel Der Zakarian has a fully fit squad to choose from as La Paillade travel north to Stade Raymond Kopa. Back Montpellier to make it 11 unbeaten games.
Lorient 14/10
Draw 47/20
Brest 19/10
Lorient welcome Brest to their Stade du Moustoir where their home record over the last six matches has been impressive winning four, drawing one, and losing one, and in the process defeating log leaders PSG 3-2. Despite sitting in 17th position, three positions lower than the visitors Brest, their push to get out of the relegation battle has been evident. Les Pirates away record has been woeful, just collecting one away win the entire season in the Coupe de France in October of last year. Back Lorient at a juicy 14/10.
Nantes 31/20
Draw 9/4
Nice 7/4
Nantes have just two wins in their last 20 Ligue 1 matches, with one of those being a shock defeat of league leaders PSG. Nantes sit 19th on the table, but the hope is still alive, just five points from 15th position. Nice on the other hand have three wins in their last five games suffering two narrow losses by a single-goal deficit.
The Eagles’ boss, Adrian Ursea, has four key players side-lined, including on loan Arsenal defender William Saliba and reliable first-team midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide, but with the young talent that Nice possess across all positions, finding the win will not be a difficult ask. Back the away team to claim maximum points.
Reims 26/10
Draw 21/10
Rennes 11/10
Reims are now on a six-game unbeaten streak after their 0-1 win away at Dijon, prior to the international break. The goal came five minutes into the second half from Senegalese forward Boulaye Dia who had not struck the back of the net since his brace in the second week of January.
Rennes are still favourite to win after bouncing back from a five-game losing streak in the league with two wins on-the-trot. The head-to-head statistics favouring the Red and Blacks with nine wins of the total 16 matches played. Back Rennes to etch the win.
Bordeaux 18/10
Draw 2/1
Strasbourg 33/20
Bordeaux have dropped 23 points of a possible 27 in total from their last nine matches. Les Girondins will have a boost in their squad selection with the return of four players, including veteran midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa.
Strasbourg come off two successive losses, and the team are still without their starting centre-back Alexander Djiku. The visitors have more to fight for only four points below relegation, but this is still a difficult fixture to call. I would suggest the Double Chance, Bordeaux or Strasbourg at 1/3.
Nimes 9/4
Draw 47/20
Saint Etienne 12/10
Nimes pulled off a massive upset at 15/2 odds as they knocked Lille off the throne before the international break, stealing a 1-2 away win, to open the door for PSG to go joint-top with victory. The Crocodiles have really put together a cracking late run to stay in Ligue 1, and a win over Saint Etienne, who are just four points clear of their opponents, will put an assertive stamp on their efforts. The Green’s are still favourite to win away from home, despite having one win in their last five league matches. Based on form, the 9/4 punt would be my Ligue 1 value bet this weekend.
Marseille 5/10
Draw 33/10
Dijon 52/10
Dijon are surprisingly far from being numerically relegated but are close to equaling the 2019/20 losing streak record, set by Toulouse (11 matches), with a 10-match losing streak, and are winless in 13 fixtures. Marseille is in the top end of the standings and have been on a decent run of form since their January slump of three losses in succession which cost them European football after dropping nine points. Expect Marseille to Win Both Halves at 11/10.
TREBLE @ 5/1
Lyon Win 15/20
Lorient Win 14/10
Marseille Win 5/10
Written by Joshua Gaillard
