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| Paris Saint-Germain defeated lowly Lille 3-1 to remain nine points clear at the Ligue 1 summit |
Right, very few surprises in the league last week as all of the top four teams claimed wins although Lyon were made to sweat a bit against Amiens, needing a 94th-minute Houssem Auar winner.
The pick of this week’s action sees Lyon take on Marseille on Sunday while it’ll definitely be worth keeping an eye on Stade Rennais vs PSG on Saturday at 18:00 – a potential upset for sure.
Friday 15 December
11/4 St. Etienne | Draw 5/2 | Monaco 19/20 (21:45)
We open things up this week with a clash that sees struggling St. Etienne welcome Monaco to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Friday evening. It’s incredible to think how well Les Verts were doing at the start of the season – rock solid defensively and competing at the top end of the table. What a difference a few months can make, they’re in freefall at the minute and just two points from the play-off/relegation place after losing out last week against Marseille. The last thing they’ll need then is the visit of Monaco. The men from the Principality have blown hot and cold of late, however, back-to-back home wins against Angers and Troyes have seen them keep pace with Lyon and Marseille. Big value on the away win here at 19/20. Monaco haven’t been particularly impressive this season, but they’ll not need to play particularly well in order to beat a woeful St. Etienne outfit.
Saturday 16 December
11/1 Stade Rennais | 11/2 | PSG 1/5 (18:00)
I – along with a number of punters around the world – was pretty disappointed when Stade Rennais couldn’t muster a win against lowly Metz. It was my best bet for last weekend, but a poor performance from the form side in the league saw them slip to a 1-1 draw in what was a pretty disappointing performance. They don’t have time to lick their wounds for long, though as the Parisian juggernaut comes calling. PSG bounced back perfectly from their shock defeat at the hands of Strasbourg by breezing past Lille in the capital. Goals from Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore and Kylian Mbappe saw the log leaders maintain their grip on the league this season. Stade Rennais are in good touch at the moment but I don’t see them beating PSG, take the away win at 1/5.
21/20 Strasbourg | 9/4 | Toulouse 11/4 (21:00)
It seems Strasbourg’s shock 2-1 win over PSG two weeks ago has galvanised the little northeastern club. They were buzzing last weekend as they cruised to a convincing 3-0 win – much to the shock of everyone – over Bordeaux. Thierry Laurey won’t want his side to lose any of that intensity for the visit of decidedly less glamourous opposition this weekend. Toulouse are another club who have been in freefall, but managed to arrest a winless streak – that stretched back six games and included five losses – against Caen last weekend. The 2-0 victory would have given them plenty of confidence, something they’ll need when they go up against an in-form Strasbourg on Saturday. Back the hosts here who are in a rich vein of form.
9/20 Montpellier | 31/10 | Metz 13/2 (21:00)
We’re off to the home of the draw specialists next as Montpellier welcome bottom club Metz to Stade de la Mosson. Montpellier – as I’m sure you’ve already guessed – drew last week against Angers. That means five of their last six matches have ended in stalemates. One feels that they’ll be eyeing victory against the bottom club this weekend. Metz claimed only their fifth log point of the season last weekend as they held on for a 1-1 draw against Stade Rennais. Whether or not they’ll be able to score against the best defence in the league… I’m not so sure. Get on the Totals – Under 2.5 Goals here at 7/10. These two, after all, are the divisions most goal shy teams. Great value at 7/10.
12/10 Dijon | 22/10 | Lille 24/10 (21:00)
Dijon were soundly beaten last week by Guingamp who cantered to a 4-0 win. It must be incredibly frustrating for Olivier Dall’Oglio who can’t seem to get any consistency out of his team. They’re perfectly capable of beating the best in the division but also have a penchant for imploding against some of the lesser sides. Let’s hope – for the sake of Dall’Oglio – that they’re able to put in a better display against Lille this weekend. Lille’s two-game winning streak was unsurprisingly snapped by PSG last time out as they went down 3-1. Still, there should be enough confidence left in Marcelo Bielsa’s men from their wins against Lyon and Toulouse to earn themselves a point at the very least here. I’m leaning toward Lille, but to be safe back them on the Win/Draw at 6/10.
19/20 Caen | 47/20 | Guingamp 31/10 (21:00)
Caen have just started to wobble of late, suffering back-to-back defeats against Lyon and Toulouse. They do still find themselves in the top half of the table for now but could be leapfrogged into ninth by their Saturday opposition. Guingamp will be on a high after steamrolling Dijon last weekend in a 4-0 win. That victory came hot on the heels of an away triumph over Troyes. Antoine Kombouare will be buzzing this weekend and will no doubt look to dish out another heavy defeat to a mid-table rival. There’s massive value on the away win here, get on at 31/10.
13/10 Troyes | 21/10 | Amiens 9/4 (21:00)
We’re off the medieval town of Troyes next where Jean-Louis Garcia’s men will play host to Amiens in what looks likely to be a tight affair. The hosts have now suffered three straight defeats and are level on points with Lille who sit in 18th. A big turnaround is needed, lest they want to slip into the relegation places. Amiens have also battled of late. A run of three consecutive wins was broken as they went down against Stade Rennais and Lyon in consecutive weeks. That said, those defeats did come at the hands of two of the division’s form sides. The away side is the way to go here at 9/4.
Sunday 17 December
19/20 Nantes | Draw 9/4 | Angers 31/10 (16:00)
Nantes have been good this season but have lacked the consistency to keep pace with the top four. As much was evident in their last two matches, losing against Nice after drawing 1-1 with St. Etienne – two games a team in their position would expect to win. They absolutely have to get back to winning ways this weekend against second-bottom Angers or risk having their entire season derailed. Angers’ form has all but abandoned them as they find themselves floundering in 19th place on the log. They’ve failed to win in each of their last eight league encounters, having only claimed two wins this season. They’ll be kicking themselves for not converting more of their early season draws into wins as they fight relegation. Back Nantes here at 19/20, massive value.
5/4 Nice | 9/4 | Bordeaux 9/4 (18:00)
Short and sweet here – Nice have been sensational of late, winning three on the spin as they continue to climb the table. Bordeaux are heading in the opposite direction at a rate of knots. Home win all day. Add to all weekend multiples.
9/10 Lyon| 11/4 | Marseille 26/10 (22:00)
We round off the weekend’s action with a mouth-watering affair between Lyon and Marseille. Both clubs have been in excellent form of late. Lyon’s only recent blip was a shock 2-1 reverse against Lille, however, they’ve bounced back well, beating both Caen and Lyon. Marseille have been deadly away from home this season and toward the end of the 2016/17 campaign. In fact, they’ve not tasted defeat away from the Orange Velodrome in 16 league ties. They’re also currently on a 12-match unbeaten run in the league this season and will know that a big win away at Lyon will lay down a marker to all of the other teams in and around the top four. You can’t ignore form here, take Marseille on the Win/Draw at 15/20.
TREBLE @ 15/1
Strasbourg Win 21/20
Guingamp Win 31/10
Nantes Win 19/20
Written by Jason Dewey
