 |
| Paris Saint-Germain have gotten off to a blistering start, winning their first five matches! |
We’re into the seventh week of Ligue 1 action with PSG leading the way on 18 points from Monaco (15 points) and St-Etienne (13 points). The Parisians will face Montpellier this week while the men from the Principality are away to an underperforming Lille side. There’s plenty of action to get through this week, so let’s jump right in.
Friday 22 September
19/20 Nice | Draw 23/10 | Angers 3/1 (19:00)
Nice have struggled to recapture the form that saw them in and around Monaco and PSG at the top of the table last season. They’ve been plagued by wild inconsistency which has seen them lose 3-0 to relegation candidates Amiens one week before smashing Monaco 4-0 the next. Angers have had an interesting season – they’ve only won once but find themselves in mid-table thanks to four draws. They were, however, condemned to their first defeat of the campaign last week, losing at home to bottom club Metz. Nice should be far too strong for an Angers side who will still be licking their wounds following last week’s loss.
37/10 Lille | 29/10 | Monaco 7/10 (20:45)
Lille have endured a bit of a nightmare start to the league, having only won once in six games so far. That victory coming on the opening day against Nantes. Since then, however, they’ve battled to score goals, only finding the net on two occasions in five games. The last thing they need is a visit from the reigning champions Monaco. Leonardo Jardim’s men have been good this season with the only blip on their record coming against Nice in that 4-0 rollicking. Monaco should be far too strong for Lille and should be backed with confidence at 7/10.
Saturday 23 September
14/1 Montpellier | 13/2 | PSG 1/6 (17:00)
I’ll keep this segment of the preview short and sweet – a struggling Montpellier side welcome rampant PSG to the Stade de la Mosson. The visitors could walk this league with their squad players and have been making mincemeat out of teams like Montpellier. PSG on the (-1) Handicap is the only way to go here at 9/20.
17/20 Caen | 24/10 | Amiens 33/10 (20:00)
Caen have enjoyed a solid enough start to their season, winning three and losing three. Their last defeat came away against high-flying Nantes who beat them 1-0. They should have very little trouble at home against little Amiens though who will only be hoping to survive this season. Amiens suffered a nightmare start to their season losing three matches on the trot against PSG, Angers and St. Etienne. They turned it around, however, with a resounding 3-0 home win over Nice before beating Strasbourg. They were soundly turned over on their own patch last time out by Marseille. A similar result is expected this week, home win for me at 17/20.
7/10 Bordeaux | 26/10 | Guingamp 4/1 (20:00)
Bordeaux have been excellent this season and are one of only two teams – the other being PSG – who have yet to taste defeat. The only issue I have with the men from the southern part of France is that they’ve been drawing against teams that they really should be beating. Draws against Angers and Lille spring to mind. Guingamp will be confident heading into this game, having claimed all three points at home against Lille last week. They have struggled when up against quality opposition this season with defeats against PSG, Lyon and Nice. I expect Bordeaux to claim all three points here, 7/10 is a decent price.
23/20 Metz | 23/10 | Troyes 49/20 (20:00)
Metz have battled this season and find themselves at the foot of the table. They did arrest the run of form which saw them lose five on the trot last week away at Angers with a 1-0 win. They’ll look to build on that this week against Troyes who have also struggled this term. Troyes have now gone four games without a win and will find life difficult away to a Metz outfit who will be buzzing after their first win of the season. They were beaten 1-0 last week by Montpellier but will fancy their chances against Metz. I fancy Troyes here, but I’m not particularly confident. The away side on the Win/Draw Double Chance is the way to go at 13/20.
3/10 Lyon | 47/10 | Dijon 17/2 (20:00)
Lyon were soundly beaten last time out by PSG. It’s a result Bruno Genesio will no doubt be frustrated with, but what can you do against the plethora of stars at the disposal of the Parisian giants? They’ll be confident of bouncing back against Dijon who have one of the thinner squads in the division. Dijon have only won once this term with that victory coming against the wildly inconsistent Montpellier. They’ve lost two on the spin against Caen and St-Etienne. Lyon should prove far too strong for Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men and should be taken on the (-1) Handicap at 7/10.
Sunday 24 September
21/20 St. Etienne | 9/4 | Rennes 28/10 (15:00)
St. Etienne have been magnificent this season and will look to push the likes of PSG and Monaco all the way this season. They’ll be able to do just that without any European commitments, something which looked to hamper them a bit last season. They have one of the best defensive records in the division and have only conceded once at home this term. It’s difficult to see Stade Rennais coming away with anything this weekend. With only one win under their belt this term, they have it all to do against Oscar Garcia Junyent’s men. While there’s enough value in the straight St. Etienne win, I’d back them to Win To Nil at 2/1 – BIG value there.
31/20 Strasbourg | 2/1 | Nantes 39/20 (17:00)
Strasbourg are another of the many sides to have only won once this season. They were soundly beaten last week, going down 3-0 away at Monaco. That result was their third loss on the spin as frustration around the Stade de la Meinau continues to grow. Nantes have been one of the surprise packages of this season, grinding out a number of excellent results. They’ve won their last two matches against Caen and Montpellier by the same 1-0 scoreline, while also earning a credible draw with Lyon three weeks ago. The away side is the way to go here at 39/20.
11/20 Marseille | 31/10 | Toulouse 47/10 (21:00)
We round off this week’s preview with what should be a pretty one-sided clash down in the south of France as Marseille welcome Toulouse to the Orange Velodrome. Rudi Garcia’s men have turned a corner since their 6-1 hammering at the hands of Monaco at the end of August, winning three on the spin in all competitions. Toulouse have endured an up and down start to their 2017/18 campaign and find themselves in 13th position on the standings. They were unfortunate to go down 1-0 last week against Bordeaux, wasting a number of excellent chances before their opposition struck in the second half. The hosts should prove too strong for a spirited Toulouse team.
TREBLE @ 9/1
Nice Win 19/20
Monaco Win 7/10
St. Etienne Win To Nil 2/1
Written by Jason Dewey
