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| With only six gameweeks remaining in the season, it’s pretty much do or die time for PSG and Nice. |
With only six gameweeks remaining in the season, it’s pretty much ‘do or die time’ for PSG and Nice. The former are only three points off league leaders Monaco while the latter sit a further point back and have played a game more than the two sides above them. There’s also a relegation battle of note developing at the foot of the table with only five points separating 16th-placed Caen and cellar-dwellers Bastia.
Friday 14 April
9/1 Angers | Draw 17/4 | PSG 3/10 (20:45)
Angers and PSG get gameweek 33 underway this Friday evening. The hosts come into this one off the back of a 1-0 loss to Monaco while the visitors managed to claim a 4-0 victory over Guingamp in gameweek 32. I’m not going to go into too much detail here as I think PSG will canter to a victory. Get on the away win with confidence.
Saturday 15 April
1/4 Monaco | 52/10 | Dijon 17/2 (17:00)
League leaders Monaco are up next. Leonardo Jardim’s men come into this one with somewhat of a decent price affixed to their names – I honestly thought they’d end up shorter than the 1/4 that’s currently priced up. Dijon are back in the relegation zone after losing to Bastia last week. They are likely to be pushed further into the mire after this one, as I can’t see Monaco slipping up despite having midweek Champions League duty to contend with. Get on the Monaco win with confidence!
6/10 Nice | 28/10 | Nancy 17/4 (20:00)
The stars seem to have aligned with the top three all involved in the opening three games of the weekend. Nice will host a Nancy side who really impressed in gameweek 32, beating Rennes 3-0. While the result hasn’t pulled them that far away from the relegation dogfight, it will have still given them a massive psychological boost heading into this one. I think the visitors could pull off an upset here but I’m nowhere near bold enough to back that particular market. Instead, my money is going on the Both Teams To Score – Yes – market which is currently available at 19/20.
5/4 Rennes | 2/1 | Lille 24/10 (20:00)
Next up is a clash between mid-table foes Rennes and Lille. With both sides safe from the drop and with little chance of securing a European berth, this game could prove to be somewhat of an exhibition match. Both teams come into this one off the back of a loss with Lille going down 2-1 to Nice and Rennes losing 3-0 to Nancy. The recent head to head stats doesn’t really shed any light on how this game could pan out with the last three fixtures seeing a Nancy win, a Rennes win and a 1-1 draw. I’m going to go with my gut here and back the Both Teams T Score – Yes – market which is available at 23/20.
27/20 Metz | 22/10 | Caen 2/1 (20:00)
Metz and Caen will go head-to-head in the day’s next fixture. The hosts come into this one off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Bordeaux while the visitors make the trip having gone down 2-0 to Montpellier. This could be quite the clash with only three points separating the sides and the sphere of relegation still shadowing both teams. These two sides know each other well having faced off in Ligue 2 as well as in the top tier. The last three games between the sides have been rather touchy affairs with Metz receiving a red card in two of the three. The last few head to head contests have also produced some high scoring results with 11 goals being scored in the last four at an average of just under three goals per game. As such, my money is going on the Totals – Over 2.5 Goals market, which is available at 19/20.
9/10 Montpellier | 26/10 | Lorient 26/10 (20:00)
Saturday’s penultimate fixture sees Montpellier take on Lorient. The visitors were in all-mighty form last weekend upsetting Lyon 4-1. The victory has seen them move up to 18th on the standings – they were last at the start of the weekend – and illustrates just how tight it is at the foot of the Ligue 1 table. Montpellier also come into this one off the back of a victory as they saw off Caen 2-0. This could be quite an intriguing contest with Montpellier all but assured safety, while Lorient are still trying to stave off relegation. I quite fancy the away side to cause an upset here. And at 26/10 they are certainly worth a punt!
11/10 Guingamp | 9/4 | Toulouse 5/2 (20:00)
We close out Saturday’s action with a tie between Guingamp and Toulouse. Both sides sit comfortably in mid-table and have little to play for here. As such we could see a few youngsters thrown into the mix during the second half of this fixture. The hosts suffered a drubbing at the hands of PSG last Sunday and will be looking to atone for what was a rather poor defensive performance. The visitors, on the other hand, managed to salvage a point from their gameweek 32 fixtures as they drew with Marseille. It’s solely based on my gut feeling, but I quite fancy the away side here.
Sunday 16 April
31/20 Nantes | 43/20 | Bordeaux 7/4 (15:00)
Sunday’s action gets underway with a game between Nantes and Bordeaux. The hosts come into this one off the back of a 1-1 draw with St. Etienne while the visitors make the trip to the Stade de la Beaujoire off the back of a 3-0 victory over Metz. This is one of those games that has draw written all over it. Both sides are decent enough at the back and are likely to be happy with a point apiece. Get on the draw at a kind 43/20!
47/10 Bastia | 34/10 | Lyon 5/10 (17:00)
Bastia will be looking to claw their way out of the relegation zone when they take on a Lyon outfit who have flattered to deceive this season. The visitors were extremely poor last week going down 4-1 to lowly Lorient. The results has seen their Europa League qualification berth put in jeopardy with Bordeaux and Marseille now in striking distance of Le Gones. Bastia are in real trouble and need to start claiming some positive results otherwise they will be plying their trade in the second tier of French football come August. They will be hard tasked to achieve this here as Lyon will be fired-up after last week’s embarrassment. As much as I’d like to see Bastia claim a win, I simply can’t see it happening. Get on a Lyon win at 5/10!
8/10 Marseille | 49/20 | St. Etienne 7/2 (21:00)
We close out the round with a tie between Marseille and St. Etienne. Both teams come into this one off the back of draws with Marseille firing a blank against Toulouse and St. Etienne being held 1-1 by Nantes. This is another game that just seems destined to end in a draw with both sides likely to employ rather defensive formations. I will certainly be having a crack on the stalemate at a healthy 49/20.
TREBLE @ 3/1
PSG Win 3/10
Rennes vs Lille BTTS 23/20
Lyon Win 5/10
Written by Darry Worthington
