The French Ligue 1 will resume on Friday evening with Toulouse and Monaco opening proceedings.
Well so much for PSG and Monaco suffering Champions League hangovers. The two Ligue 1 giants cantered to victory in gameweek 8, with Monaco downing Metz 7-0 and PSG seeing off Bordeaux by two goals to nil. Elsewhere, Lyon got their campaign back on track with a 2-0 win over St Etienne, while Dijon and Montpellier played out a 3-3 draw in the game of the round.
There are some tasty looking clashes this week, with Toulouse hosting Monaco in Friday’s gameweek opener and Nice and Lyon going toe-to-toe straight after that. While Marseille and Metz close out the round late on Sunday evening.
Friday 14 October
Toulouse 2/1 | Draw 43/20 | Monaco 14/10
We kick things off at the Stadium Municipal with fourth-place Toulouse taking on second-placed Monaco. The hosts come into this one off a 2-0 defeat to PSG while the visitors come into it, off the back of their most impressive display of the season, a 7-0 victory over Metz.
That was Monaco’s sixth win of the season and their second in a row. They will be looking to make it three on the trot this Friday, and the recent head to head record between the two sides suggests they’ll have every chance of achieving this. The men from the French principality have won four out of the last five games between the two sides by more than a goal. While these stats make the -1 handicap a rather tempting prospect, I feel there’s enough value on offer with the straight win available at 14/10.
Nice 18/10 | Draw 23/10 | Lyon 15/10
This could prove to be the game of the round with Nice in fine fettle and Lyon having recaptured some of their early season form. Nice extended their undefeated run to eight matches with a 2-1 victory over Lorient in gameweek 8. This was their sixth victory of the season and ensured they would remain at the top of the Ligue 1 standings.
Lyon also managed to grab a win last time out as they saw off mid-table opposition in the form of St Ettiene. The 2-0 win was made all the more impressive due to the absence of talismanic striker Alexandre Lacazette. The 25-year-old hitman is said to be touch and go for this weekend’s clash. If he fails to recover in time for the game, then it would be a massive blow for Les Gones. If I was forced to pick a winner here, I would go with Nice. Thankfully I don’t. Instead, I recommend backing the Both Teams To Score market – Yes at 7/10.
Saturday 15 October
Nancy 15/2 | Draw 37/10 | PSG 7/20
We kick Saturday’s action off with a clash between relegation candidates Nancy and defending Champions PSG. The hosts currently sit at the foot of the log, having only managed to win one game this season. That came back in late August but must seem a decade ago for manager Pablo Correa.
While PSG haven’t exactly been their all-conquering selves this term, they still sit only four points off league leaders Nice. The Parisians gave a decent account of themselves in gameweek 8 beating Bordeaux 2-0. I can see them making it back-to-back wins with a victory over struggling Nancy. It may not be the greatest value on offer this weekend but PSG at 7/20 for the win is definitely one to stick in all your weekend multiples.
Lorient 29/20 | Draw 21/10 | Nantes 2/1
Our next port of call is the Stade du Moustoir, where 19th-placed Lorient take on 16th-placed Nantes. This weekend’s hosts come into this one off the back of a spirited 2-1 defeat to Nice while the visitors come to town off the back of a 1-0 victory over Bastia.
The recent head to head stats certainly favour Nantes, who have won three of the last five games played between the two. They managed a 1-0 victory away from home the last time the sides met and I reckon they’ll win by a similar margin this coming Saturday. Get on the Nantes win at 2/1.
Bastia 15/10 | Draw 19/10 | Angers 22/10
Our next fixture for the weekend is a midtable battle between Francois Ciccolini’s Bastia and Stephane Moulin’s Angers. The hosts registered their third win of the campaign last time out, with a Mariusz Stepinski goal, seeing Angers to a 1-0 victory over Bastia.
The recent head to head results between the two sides make for rather interesting reading with the last two games ending in 1-0 victories for either side, while the game prior to those two ended in a 1-1 draw. I am going to let the statistics sway my decision here and back the Totals – back the Under 2.5 Goals market at 4/10.
Montpellier 21/20 | Draw 23/10 | Caen 26/10
There may well be an upset on this Saturday as 3/1 shots Caen are taking on a Montpellier side who haven’t won a game since the opening game of the season. Caen, on the other hand, made it three wins from their opening eight matches with a 1-0 victory over Toulouse during gameweek 8. The victory has seen Caen move up to 13th place on the Ligue 1 table.
Montpellier’s poor start to the campaign has been mainly due to their sloppy defense. La Paillade have conceded 15 goals in their opening eight fixtures at an average of 1.8 goals per game. Caen haven’t been much better defensively, shipping 14 goals thus far. With the previous two sentences in mind, my money is firmly on the Totals – Over 2.5 Goals at 1/1.
Guingamp 16/10 | Draw 2/1 | Lille 19/10
We close out Saturday’s fixtures with a tie between 10th-placed Guingamp and 18th-placed Lille. The hosts come into this one off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Stade Rennes, while the visitors managed to arrest their horrific slide in the form of a 1-0 victory over Lille.
While the former will have taken a lot of confidence from their victory, I just don’t think they’ll be able to get the better of a Guingamp side who have only lost two games this term. Get on the Guingamp straight win at 16/10.
Sunday 16 October
Rennes 27/20 | Draw 22/10 | Bordeaux 21/10
Sunday opens up with a tie between sixth-placed Bordeaux and seventh-placed Stade Rennes. The two sides enjoyed contrasting fortunes in gameweek 8, with Rennes seeing off Guingamp 1-0 and Bordeaux going down 2-0 to PSG.
The two teams have almost identical records this season with both winning four, drawing one and losing three. Bordeaux have conceded two more goals than their opponents, while both sides have netted ten times this season. There is not much to choose between the two and I think we may see this one end in a draw. At 22/10, there’s certainly some decent value available on that line.
St Ettiene 15/20 | Draw 51/20 | Dijon 38/10
They may be favourites with the bookies, but I have a feeling that St Ettiene will suffer their fourth defeat of the season this coming weekend. It is not so much the host’s form that leads me to think this – they’ve actually been decent lately winning two out of their last four fixtures – but rather Dijon’s attitude toward their games.
The newly promoted side may ship a plethora of goals – they’ve already conceded 13 this season – but their willingness to continue to play attacking football means that you can never really discount them. They’re likely to continue this same approach and again throw caution to the wind. The smart thing here is to back the Both Teams to Score – Yes – Market at 21/20. For those who are in search of a bit more value and don’t mind taking a bit of a risk, the Dijon straight win offers a fantastic return at 38/10!
Marseille 5/10 | Draw 32/10 | Metz 52/10
Our final fixture of the gameweek sees Marseille take on Metz at the Stade Velodrome. The hosts registered their third draw of the season last time out as they were held to a 1-1 stalemate against Angers, while the visitors were humbled 7-0 by a rampant Monaco side.
Marseille really haven’t impressed me this term. They seem extremely unbalanced and devoid of ideas on attack. My money is on Metz bouncing back from their Monaco drubbing with a shock victory at the Stade Velodrome. Get on the Metz win at 52/10
TREBLE @ 52/1
Monaco 14/10
Caen 26/10
Metz 52/10
Written by Darry Worthington @Hollywoodbets
