Ligue 1 Betting: Monaco to have edge over PSG in big title clash

"Montpellier have picked up just 1pt from their opening two Ligue 1 fixtures of 2017. Their away form is terrible: they’ve lost their last six away games in all competitions, scoring just twice and conceding 14 times."

Best Bet: Marseille -0.5&-1.0 Asian handicap v Montpellier @ 2.00

Marseille v Montpellier (7th v 13th)
Fri, 19:45 GMT

Marseille will be licking their wounds after two defeats in their last two matches but have a great opportunity to bounce back on Friday night.

Rudi Garcia's side lost 4-1 at home to Monaco a fortnight ago and 3-1 at Lyon last weekend but those games were against two of Ligue 1's top sides. This should be an easier fixture against visitors in all sorts of trouble.

Peace has yet to truly break out at Montpellier following the war of words between club president Louis Nicollin and manager Frederic Hantz at the start of the year. Nicollin said he would sack Hantz if he could afford to pay him off; Hantz responded by saying those cutting comments were totally uncalled for. Hantz is now expected to leave at the end of the season, making for a deeply uncomfortable working environment.

Montpellier have picked up just one point from their opening two Ligue 1 fixtures of 2017 while also suffering a 5-0 French Cup defeat at Lyon. Their away form is terrible: they've lost their last six away games in all competitions, scoring just twice and conceding 14 times.

Marseille look a good bet to win. They're available at 1.78 but we prefer backing them on the Asian handicap as they could win by a couple of goals.

Recommended Bet
Marseille -0.5&-1.0 Asian handicap @ 2.00

Rennes v Nantes (8th v 11th)
Sat, 19:00 GMT

Nantes are a team transformed since the appointment of Sergio Conceicao as manager last month and look good enough to pick up something from this short trip across north-west France to Rennes.

The Canaries have won four of five Ligue 1 fixtures under Conceicao, keeping a clean sheet every time they've won. Their sole defeat came against PSG last weekend (0-2), and there was no shame in losing to the champions, a far better outfit than the Rennes side Nantes face this weekend.

The hosts have won just eight of 21 Ligue 1 fixtures and have fallen to eighth in the table - their lowest position since mid-September - owing to a poor run of form. Rennes are without a win in their last six matches in all competitions against Ligue 1 sides (W0-D2-L4) and are especially weak in attack. Their no.1 striker Giovanni Sio is away at the Africa Cup of Nations and their France winger Paul-Georges Ntep was sold to Wolfsburg for €8.5m earlier this month.

The Draw at 3.25, a lay of Rennes at 2.26 and Nantes with a small Asian handicap start are all worth considering.

Recommended Bet
Nantes +0&+0.5 Asian handicap @ 2.10

PSG v Monaco (3rd v 1st)
Sun, 20:00 GMT

Live on BT Sport 1

This is by far the biggest match of the Ligue 1 season so far, and champions PSG are worth opposing at Parc des Princes.

No matter how you look at it PSG's odds of 1.68 to win this clash of the title favourites are simply too short. First up there's the fact that Monaco are two places and three points above PSG in the standings. Then there's the fact that Monaco have an excellent away record (W6-D2-L2).

Monaco also have better six-game form and 10-game form than the hosts: Monaco are W5-D0-L1 compared to PSG's W3-D1-L2 over the past six games, and W8-D1-L1 rather than PSG's W7-D1-L2 over the past 10 games.

The market suggestion that PSG have close to a 60% chance of winning the match simply doesn't stack up when you look at the evidence. Monaco have great team news, too - manager Leonardo Jardim should be able to select his strongest side.

The Draw at 4.20, Monaco +0.5&+1.0 Asian handicap at 2.08 or laying PSG at a short price are the selections to consider.

Recommended Bet
Lay PSG @ 1.70