Ligue 1 Betting: Rampant Rennes to extend top-three push against sorry St Etienne

Rennes vs St Etienne (3rd vs 18th)
Sat, 20:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video

Rennes have frequently won by big margins at home this season and have another excellent opportunity to do so when they host St Etienne at Roazhan Park on Saturday night.

The Bretons are one of those teams that always look to score the second and third goal after going ahead in matches, and we ought to see this positive approach from them again this weekend.

Rennes are an excellent W12-D1-L4 at home this season yet the more important stat for our selection on this game is the one that shows how frequently Bruno Genesio’s players have triumphed by more than one goal.

Ten of Rennes’ 12 home victories have come by a margin of two or more goals, with ‘more’ the key word here: their goal difference across their 12 home wins is a remarkable +3.17 per game.

St Etienne ought to be compliant visitors. Les Verts are battling for their lives near the foot of the table yet their lack of defensive quality and organisation has cost them dearly in recent weeks and is likely to do so again.

Last weekend, St Etienne lost 4-1 at home to Monaco. Four games ago they lost 6-2 away to relegation rivals Lorient. They’ve conceded 17 goals in their last five matches, suggesting they’ll struggle to contain Rennes’ rampant attack.

With our selection, you’ll make a profit as long as Rennes win by two or more goals. For a full guide to Asian Handicap betting, click here.

Low goals the smart selection

Troyes vs Lille (16th vs 9th)
Sun, 12:00 BST
Live on Betfair Live Video

Troyes’ defensive approach to staying out of the relegation zone is the key to our selection on this match as they take on Lille on Sunday lunchtime.

The host use a five-man defence every week and are a risk-averse side that would happily draw their way to safety if they could.

Troyes appointed Bruno Irles as their manager at the start of the year. Eleven of 15 matches since he took over have featured Under 2.5 Goals, with seven of the 15 featuring Under 1.5 Goals. With Irles in charge, Troyes are averaging just 0.75 goals a game.

Lille are likely to feed into this low-scoring pattern. They’ve netted just five times in their last seven matches and an apathetic approach is likely this weekend: no longer in the race for the European places, Lille have nothing to play for, suggesting they’ll lack the inclination to consistently cause Troyes’ back five problems.

Under 2.5 Goals is 1.84/5. As an alternative, consider Under 2.0 & 2.5 on the Goal Lines market. With this selection, you’ll make a small profit if the game features two goals exactly, and a larger profit if the game has no goals or one goal.

Monaco too strong for Angers

Monaco vs Angers (4th vs 14th)
Sun, 14:00 BST
Live on Betfair Live Video

Monaco are on a run of six straight victories and a good bet to make it seven when they host Angers on Sunday afternoon.

The sudden and unexpected return to form of Philippe Clement’s hosts has put the Principality outfit back in the race for a European place and they have everything to play for as they look to secure a top-three finish.

Set-up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, Monaco have plenty of players in terrific form, and in Wissam Ben Yedder a striker providing a cutting edge up front. The France international has struck five times in Monaco’s six-game winning run and is a Ligue 1 Golden Boot contender (on 20 goals, two behind current leader Kylian Mbappe).

Angers have everything to play for as they’re battling to stay out of the relegation zone. Yet their most inspirational attacker Sofiane Boufal has been ruled out by injury and their record against better sides is dreadful: since October, their stats vs sides currently in the top six are W0-D1-L8, including a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Monaco last December.

Monaco are 1.42/5 to win. Instead, consider Monaco on the Asian Handicap. With our selection, you’ll make a profit as long as Monaco win by two or more goals.