French Ligue 1 football is back after the international break! Check out our week five preview below:
The summit of the French Ligue 1 table looks rather peculiar at this early stage of the season with PSG leading the way from the likes of Dijon, Toulouse and Lille. Monaco find themselves with just a single win after four matches while Marseille and Lyon occupy fifth and eighth position respectively.
The biggest clash of the round sees PSG take on St-Etienne at home while Monaco’s trip to Toulouse should prove should prove pretty interesting. Let’s take a look at how France’s top clubs should fare after the international break:
Friday 14 September
Nice 13/10
Draw 22/10
Stade Rennais 43/20
Nice bagged their first win of the season just prior to the international break with a morale-boosting 1-0 away victory against Lyon. An absolute rocket from Allan Saint-Maximin on the 50-minute mark saw Patrick Vieira’s charges through. Perhaps that helps ease the nerves around the club following a very below-par start to the campaign.
Their visitors this weekend will be Stade Rennais who have started the season well. Sabri Lamouchi will be hoping that his side can remain consistent throughout this campaign after fading quite badly toward the end of 2017/18. They also grabbed a big win last time out as the downed visiting Bordeaux 2-0. Tough one to call here, both teams will be on highs from the previous gameweek.
Perhaps avoid this if you can, but both teams to score looks a decent strike at 17/20.
PSG 1/5
Draw 57/10
St-Etienne 25/2
The Parisian juggernaut continues its march toward yet another Ligue 1 title. They were given a bit of a scare last time out as Nimes almost managed to snatch a point against Thomas Tuchel’s stars but for late Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani strikes. Keep in mind that Mbappe will be suspended for the clash after receiving a straight red last time out.
You really can’t see St-Etienne getting anything out of this game. They’ve not tasted defeat in 2018/19, however, three draws from their four matches thus far has hamstrung them slightly as they find themselves ninth on the standings. The best Jean-Louis Gasset’s men can hope for here is a draw. Even that seems unlikely, though.
Back PSG to clear the (-1) handicap at 5/10.
Saturday 15 September
Caen 37/10
Draw 11/4
Lyon 7/10
Caen helped themselves to an excellent 2-0 away at high-flying Dijon before the international window and will look to take advantage of a Lyon side who haven’t quite clicked into gear yet.
Lyon – who many thought would push PSG all the way this season – have been really disappointing.
They’re already six points off the Parisians with just four games played and need to put together the sort of run which saw them charge up the table toward the end of last season. Lyon simply have to come right soon.
They represent excellent value here at 7/10 and should be backed accordingly.
Amiens 22/10
Draw 43/20
Lille 27/20
Amiens have enjoyed an okay-ish start to the season and will be happy enough to find themselves clear of the relegation zone at this early juncture. They held on for a credible 0-0 draw away at St-Etienne before the international break and hammered Reims 6-1 before that. Confidence should be pretty high.
Lille appear to have put last season’s disastrous campaign behind them. They’re fourth on the standings at the moment ahead of teams like Marseille, Lyon and Monaco. They did go down 1-0 away at Angers last time out, so the international break came at a good time.
They’ll regroup after that defeat and attempt to get back on track. Back Lille here at 27/20.
Montpellier 9/10
Draw 47/20
Strasbourg 33/10
Montpellier have started the season as if they mean to go on. They grabbed a win away at Reims before the international break which took their points tally to seven after just four games. They’re back at home this week where they’re traditionally quite strong and will be confident of getting over the line against Strasbourg.
Strasbourg haven’t tasted victory since the opening day of the season, beating Bordeaux 2-0. Since then, they’ve drawn against 10-man St-Etienne before back to back defeats away at Lyon and at home against Nantes. They’re not in good touch and would have welcomed the international break. Can they turn things around away at Montpellier? Probably not.
Montpellier on the straight win is one of the best bets of the week at 9/10.
Dijon 21/20
Draw 24/10
Angers 26/10
Dijon are flying at the moment and find themselves in second place despite a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Caen. Perhaps this international break will do them some good, bring them back down to earth before going again. Prior to that defeat, they beat the likes of Nice, Nantes and Montpellier.
Angers have endured a tough start to the season. They lost their opening three matches before grabbing an excellent 1-0 win at home against Lille last time out. They have a tough run of three games against Dijon, Toulouse and Monaco coming up and would dearly love to pick up maximum points this weekend.
Dijon are one of the division’s form teams and should be backed here at 21/20.
Toulouse 39/20
Draw 24/10
Monaco 13/10
This should prove to be a pretty interesting tie. Toulouse – having staved off relegation last season – are flying high in the early parts of 2018/19. Despite being hammered 4-0 on the opening weekend by Marseille, they’ve subsequently collected wins against Bordeaux, Nimes and Guingamp. Whether or not they can hold their own against one of the division’s top sides remains in question.
Monaco have endured a tough start to the season and currently find themselves in 13th place on the standings with just four points after as many games. The international break would have done the players a world of good. They’ll no doubt return refocussed and should really be beating Toulouse.
Massive value on the away win at 13/10.
Nantes 21/20
Draw 22/10
Reims 28/10
Nantes have started the season slowly losing their first two matches of the campaign. They have managed to get back on track with a home draw against Caen and a thrilling 3-2 away win against Strasbourg.
Reims have crashed back down to earth after a pulsating start to the season. They’ve now suffered back to back defeats after winning their first two games against Lyon and Nice.
I really like Nantes’ price here – 21/20 represents great value for a club who appear to getting into their stride.
Sunday 16 September
Bordeaux 17/20
Draw 5/2
Nimes 32/10
Bordeaux have turned a corner following a dire start to their campaign. They picked up their first win of the season. They’ve beaten Bordeaux as well as having defeated Gent over two legs to qualify for the Europa League. They were smartly beaten by Stade Rennais before the international break but will still be confident of getting one over the newly-promoted side.
Nimes almost snatched a draw at home against PSG last time out. Despite heading into the break 2-0 down, the minnows rallied and briefly restored parity. However, late goals from Mbappe and Cavani would eventually break their hearts.
Nimes have found the back of the net three out of four games this season. With this in mind, take both teams to score at 17/20.
Marseille 7/20
Draw 9/2
Guingamp 7/1
We’ll keep this segment short and sweet. Marseille – despite enduring a tough start to the season – should prove far too strong for Guingamp who have yet to register a point this season. Home win for me all day- add to all weekend multiples
Treble tipped at 7.96/1
Montpellier win 9/10
Monaco win 13/10
Dijon win 21/20
Week four's treble won at 3.61/1:
PSG (-1)
St-Etienne vs Amiens Under 2.5 goals
Toulouse win/draw
