Showing a healthy profit on his tips for the season so far, James Eastham takes you through the odds and bets for the latest games in France’s top flight…
“Lyon have won five and drawn one of their last six matches against anyone but PSG in all competitions. Hosts St Etienne are yet to win in Ligue 1 this season, and have lost five of their opening eight fixtures.”
Best Bet: Back Lyon to win at St Etienne @ 1.84/5
Underrated Marseille the smart bet
Lille vs Marseille (9th vs 3rd)
Sun, 16:00 BST
Live on BT Sport ESPN and Betfair Live Video
It’s hard to fathom why Marseille are underdogs to claim the win when they face Lille at Stade Pierre Mauroy on Sunday afternoon.
Lille are 2.568/5, with Marseille 3.052/1 and The Draw 3.39/4, despite the fact Marseille have been clearly the better of the two sides during the opening two months of the season.
Marseille are three points and six places above Lille in the standing having played one game fewer than Jocelyn Gourvennec’s hosts. Goal difference also reveals Marseille’s superiority so far this season: Marseille’s is +6, with Lille’s -3.
Marseille are unbeaten in four away games in all competitions (W2-D2-L0) since the season started. Jorge Sampaoli’s visitors will also be keen to make amends after suffering their first defeat of the season at home to Lens (2-3) last weekend.
Lille have won just three of their opening eight league games despite a relatively gentle fixture list. The performance level of many of the players that helped Lille win the Ligue 1 title last season has dropped and that’s a real concern as they prepare to face one of France’s top sides.
Dimitri Payet has been in outstanding form for Marseille and the return from injury of Poland international striker Arkadiusz Milik in the past week means l’OM have even greater riches in attack.
With greater depth and quality to their squad, Marseille are also better equipped to deal with any fitness and freshness issues that have cropped up at the end of a week in which both of these clubs played in European competition.
At 3.052/1, Marseille are worth backing. An alternative would be to support Marseille at an odds-against price on the Draw No Bet market. The Draw No Bet (or 0 Asian Handicap) selection provides the safety net of getting your stakes back should the game end all-square.
Lyon to triumph in tense derby
St Etienne vs Lyon (20th vs 7th)
Sun, 19:45 BST
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video
This is one of the fiercest derbies in France and the cards are stacked in Lyon’s favour going into Sunday night.
St Etienne have been in awful form since the start of 2021-22 and their chances of stopping a vastly superior Lyon side winning are slim.
St Etienne are W0-D3-L5 for the season and their performance at home to Nice (3-0 defeat) last weekend was arguably their worst of the campaign so far.
Manager Claude Puel is under immense pressure and there’s talk he will be sacked if the hosts lose again here.
Lyon have better players all over the pitch and will strongly expect to pick up all three points.
They began the season slowly but their form has improved and they head into this match in confident mood.
Thanks to two Karl Toko Ekambi goals and a Houssem Aouar strike they were comfortable 3-0 home winners vs Brondby in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Lyon have won five and drawn one of their last six matches against anyone but PSG in all competitions so this short trip (60km) to face their nearest rivals will no fears for them.
On what promises to be a tense yet thrilling evening at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, at 1.855/6 Lyon are well worth backing to claim victory.
For those looking for bigger odds on Lyon, it’s worth considering the visitors on the Asian Handicap,. Even without the injured Moussa Dembele, they have the attacking quality to win by a couple of goals thanks to the presence not only of Toko Ekambi and Aouar, but also winger Xherdan Shaqiri and their outstanding Brazil playmaker Lucas Paqueta.
Lyon -1.0 Asian Handicap is available at 2.47/5. With this selection, you’ll get your stakes back if Lyon win by a single goal and make a profit if Lyon win by two or more goals. For a full guide to Asian Handicap betting, click here.
Source: BetFair French
