Skip to main content

Ligue 1 Betting: Monaco the smart pick against overrated PSG

League Cup Final
Monaco v PSG
Sat, 20:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 3


Earlier this season we took advantage of the bizarrely big prices available on Monaco to avoid defeat against PSG, and we're more than happy to do the same thing ahead of the French League Cup final on Saturday night.

Monaco are ahead of PSG in the Ligue 1 standings, yet for some reason PSG are clear favourites to win within 90 minutes when the two sides go head-to-head in the showdown clash at Stade de France this weekend.

PSG are 2.06 to lift the League Cup by winning in normal time, with Monaco 3.45Those prices make absolutely no sense given that all the evidence suggests the two teams have the same chance of winning, or that Monaco should be narrow favourites.

Monaco (1st) are 3pts above PSG (2nd) in the Ligue 1 table and have had the better of the Ligue 1 head-to-heads as well: the Principality outfit were 3-1 winners when the two sides met at Stade Louis II last August and picked up a point (1-1) in the return fixture at Parc des Princes in January.

Monaco Draw No Bet at 2.58 is an option, but we prefer the underdogs with an Asian handicap start. With our selection you'll make money as long as Monaco avoid defeat in 90 minutes.

For a guide to the Asian handicap markets, click here.

Recommended Bet
Monaco +0&+0.5 Asian handicap @ 2.10

Marseille v Dijon (5th v 17th)
Sat, 16:00 BST


Ligue 1 is the only competition left for Marseille this season and Rudi Garcia and his players appear fully focused on ending the season as strongly as they possibly can.

Excluding games against top two Monaco and PSG Marseille's six-match form is W4-D1-L1 and they'll be determined to collect another 3pts here. Their home form has been outstanding all season: excluding matches against Monaco and PSG again Marseille's record at Stade Velodrome is a magnificent W10-D3-L0.

Dijon have been hovering near the foot of the table all season and lack the quality to shut out Marseille for the entire 90 minutes. The visitors' away record is a dismal W1-D5-L9 and they've kept just one clean sheet on the road all season (against lowly Bastia).

With our selection you'll make money as long as Marseille win by two goals or more.

Recommended Bet
Marseille -1.0&-1.5 Asian handicap @ 1.97

Rennes v Lyon (8th v 4th)
Sun, 14:00 BST
Live on BT Sport ESPN


Rennes are in utterly mediocre form so high-scoring Lyon are a good bet to collect all 3pts from this visit to Roazhan Park on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts have won just one of their last 14 fixtures - a 1-0 victory over bottom club Lorient - and are in dreadful scoring form. Rennes have netted just 10 goals during their dismal 14-match run, showing the club made the wrong decision when they decided to sell their best two wingers Paul-Georges Ntep (to Wolfsburg) and Kamel Grosicki (Hull City) during the January transfer window.

Without those two wide players Rennes' attacking play has become ponderous and predictable, making them too easy to defend against. The contrast with free-scoring Lyon could not be starker, meaning the visitors will be confident of overpowering their opponents.

Lyon have scored 38 times in their last 11 fixtures in all competitions, securing big wins against the likes of AZ Alkmaar (7-1, 4-1) and AS Roma (4-2) in the Europa League plus Metz (5-0) and Toulouse (4-0) in Ligue 1. With a full complement of attackers to pick from manager Bruno Genesio will be confident his side can triumph as they pursue their objective of securing a top-four spot.

Recommended Bet
Lyon @ 1.90

Nice v Bordeaux (3rd v 6th)
Live on BT Sport Extra 1
Sun, 20:00 BST


Nice may be the higher of these two sides in the table but Bordeaux look a good bet to get something from this trip to the Allianz Riviera on Sunday night.

Jocelyn Gourvennec's visitors have been reborn since the start of the year, picking up more points (21) than Nice (20) in 2017. Set-up in a 4-3-3 formation, the visitors have played some terrific football, with midfielder Valentin Vada plus wide attackers Malcom and Francois Kamano all catching the eye.

Nice have tremendous home stats (W11-D4-L0) but their win rate has dropped dramatically since they topped the table during the first-half of the season. They've won just five of their last 12 fixtures, and team news is another major problem for them here. Central defender Paul Baysse, central midfielder Wylan Cyprien and 11-goal leading scorer Alassane Plea are all ruled out, making the spine of the side flimsy.

Bordeaux Draw No Bet (2.40) and Bordeaux with a small start on the Asian handicap are the bets to consider.

Recommended Bet
Bordeaux +0&+0.5 Asian handicap @ 1.96

Popular posts from this blog

Result France Ligue 1 round 11

Nantes 0 – 1 Lille Marseille 2 – 3 Reims Bastia 1 – 0 Nice Guingamp 2 – 1 Ajaccio Lorient 2 – 1 Sochaux Toulouse 0 – 5 Rennes Valenciennes 0 – 1 Evian Thonon Gaillard Bordeaux 2 – 0 Montpellier Monaco 2 – 1 Lyon Saint Etienne 2 – 2 Paris Saint Germain league table TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS 1 Paris Saint Germain 11 7 4 0 20 7 13 25 2 Monaco 11 7 4 0 20 8 12 25 3 Lille 11 7 2 2 13 4 9 23 4 Nantes 11 6 1 4 15 9 6 19 5 Guingamp 11 5 2 4 16 12 4 17 6 Marseille 11 5 2 4 15 11 4 17 7 Saint Etienne 11 5 2 4 17 15 2 17 8 Nice 11 5 2 4 12 11 1 17 9 ...

Result Netherland Eredivisie round 19

FC Twente 3 – 1 Heracles AZ Alkmaar 3 – 0 NAC Breda PEC Zwolle 1 – 2 Vitesse RKC Waalwijk 1 – 1 FC Groningen SC Heerenveen 2 – 2 Roda JC Kerkrade NEC Nijmegen 3 – 1 ADO Den Haag Cambuur 2 – 0 Go Ahead Eagles FC Utrecht 2 – 5 Feyenoord Ajax 1 – 0 PSV Eindhoven table TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS 1 Ajax 19 12 4 3 42 17 25 40 2 Vitesse 19 12 4 3 44 25 19 40 3 FC Twente 19 10 7 2 44 19 25 37 4 Feyenoord 19 11 3 5 41 26 15 36 5 SC Heerenveen 19 8 6 5 44 34 10 30 6 FC Groningen 19 7 7 5 37 33 ...

Southampton v Arsenal: Gunners set for a night of frustration

Southampton v Arsenal Wednesday, 19:45 Southampton  Claude Puel has done a decent job at Southampton this season, but his future at the club could rest on how well his team performs in their last four games of the season. The Saints can finish as high as eighth or as low as 16th. A bottom-half finish could be enough to seal the fate of the former Nice manager, with rumours suggesting that the club hierarchy are considering his future. It's true that Southampton's Premier League campaign has been rather underwhelming, with the side struggling to find any consistency this season, yet Puel did guide them to the EFL Cup final. He's inherited a weaker squad than previous managers enjoyed, which has lacked firepower for much of the season. Charlie Austin could return against Arsenal to help to solve that problem, while the defender Matt Targett is another player in contention. Virgil can Dijk remains out. Arsenal The Gunners gave themselves hope o...