We preview the penultimate week’s action from the 2017/18 French Ligue 1 season.
There are just two weeks left to go in France’s top-flight, and despite PSG being crowned champions a couple of weeks ago along with Metz’s relegation confirmed, there’s still plenty to play for!
The penultimate week doesn’t really throw up any ticker tape fixtures, although St-Etienne’s trip to Monaco should be interesting.
Friday 11 May
Guingamp 33/10
Draw 29/10
Marseille 15/20
Guingamp’s five-match unbeaten run in the league was brought to an abrupt end last week as they were hammered 3-1 away at Dijon. Of course, things won’t get any easier for Antoine Kombouare’s men this weekend as they host Europa League finalists Marseille.
Despite having qualified for the final of Europe’s second competition, Marseille will still harbour hopes of finishing second in the league, thus gaining them entry into Europe’s top table next season irrespective of their match against Atletico. They’re in fine form in the league at the minute having only tasted defeat once in their last nine matches. Back the away side to come away with the points here.
Saturday 12 May
Strasbourg 52/10
Draw 4/1
Lyon 9/20
Not really worth reading into this one too much. Lyon are form side in the league at the minute and have taken 24 points from their last nine matches, scoring 24 goals in the process. They’ll be much too good for lowly Strasbourg this weekend. Back Lyon to clear the (-1) handicap at 19/20.
Amiens 1/1
Draw 5/2
Metz 26/10
Amiens have enjoyed a solid enough season and have done enough in recent weeks to secure their place in the top flight for next season. Their form looks pretty good at the moment – a single defeat in their last eight games against Lyon isn’t too shabby. They should have the measure of already relegated Metz this weekend before they round off their campaign with a tough trip to Marseille.
Metz now know that they’ll be spending next season in Ligue 2 following confirmation of their relegation. Still, they’ll want to go down with a bit more than a whimper. I doubt, however, that they’ll be able to front up to Amiens, though. The hosts should come out comfortably on top here.
Lille 6/10
Draw 31/10
Dijon 9/2
Lille have finally managed to drag themselves out of the bottom three where they’d spent most of the season following crucial wins over Metz and Toulouse. They now face Dijon at home and know that a win could very well seal their survival in what has been a forgettable season.
Dijon earned a magnificent 3-1 over Guingamp last weekend in what was only their second win in nine games. Sure, their late season form hasn’t been particularly good, however, with survival sealed they can look at building for next term. Not really too sure which way to go here. Lille have turned a corner a recent weeks but still look vulnerable. Dijon’s price is just far too good to pass up – get on at 9/2.
Monaco 6/10
Draw 23/10
St-Etienne 4/1
So poor performances over the last few weeks has seen Monaco fall out of the Champions League places for pretty much the first time this season. If they’re not careful, they could even fail to gain automatic qualification to the Europa League. They were lucky to come away from Caen with a win last week after Moussa Sylla struck in the 91st-minute to give them all three points.
St-Etienne had their three-match winning streak brought to a halt by Bordeaux last week who ran out 3-1 winners. Jean-Louis Gasset will demand more from his players this time around as they look to take advantage of a wounded Monaco outfit. The away side definitely have it in them to upset the men from the Principality. Take St-Etienne on the Win / Draw at 12/10.
Bordeaux 8/10
Draw 26/10
Toulouse 32/10
Bordeaux come into this match off the back of a magnificent performance against a very good St-Etienne outfit. That would have given them plenty of confidence heading into this weekend’s clash against third-bottom Toulouse.
Toulouse were desperately unlucky to lose out against Lille last weekend. Two late strikes by fellow relegation strugglers condemned Mikael Debeve’s side to their 18th defeat of the season. Bordeaux will make it 19 – 8/10 is a magnificent price for the southwestern giants.
Angers 27/20
Draw 9/4
Nantes 2/1
Angers have done well in recent weeks having only lost once in their last six league outings. They enjoyed a remarkable comeback against Metz last week as goals in the 92nd and 94th minute ensured that they broke Metz hearts.
Nantes have endured a shocking final third of the season. At one point they were looking to break to top four hegemony but have slipped down the table to 10th. Remarkably, they’ve only won twice in their last 18 fixtures in all competitions. With numbers like these, you simply have to back the hosts at 27/20.
Montpellier 8/10
Draw 26/10
Troyes 24/10
Montpellier put a three-match losing streak behind them as they beat Nantes 2-0 last weekend thanks to goals from Keagan Dolly and Issac Mbenza. They can still very much finish as the best of the rest but will need to claim maximum points in their last two fixtures while needing Nice, St-Etienne and Stade Rennais to all slip up.
It’s squeaky bum time for Troyes who have two fixtures remaining to claw their way out of the bottom three. Whether or not they’ll be able to overturn a very good Montpellier side away from home is doubtful, but they have to remain positive while survival is a mathematical possibility. The hosts should be prove too strong here. Take them at 8/10 and add to all weekend multiples.
Nice 7/10
Draw 29/10
Caen 37/10
Nice were brought back down to earth last week as they were beaten 2-1 by Marseille. Lucien Farve’s side have been in fine fettle over the last couple of weeks only losing against PSG and Marseille in their last eight matches.
Caen on the other hand have been woeful. They’re lucky that they enjoyed a good start to the season or they may well have been staring down the barrel at this point. They’ve only managed to pick up two points from a possible 24 of late and look set to lose once again this weekend. Hosts to win comfortably at 7/10.
PSG 1/4
Draw 11/2
Stade Rennais 8/1
We round off the week’s action with what should be a pretty straightforward win for PSG. The Parisians have only dropped two points at home in the league all season and should be much too strong for a spirited Stade Rennais outfit. PSG should be added to all weekend multiples at 1/4.
Treble tipped at 6.38/1
Lyon (-1) 21/20
Marseille win 8/10
Amiens win 1/1
