Ligue 1 Betting: Balotelli's Nice to serve up Sunday night excitement

Lorient v Angers (16th v 14th)
Sat, 19:00 BST

Lorient are battling to avoid relegation and their recent home form suggests they should pick up at least a draw against Angers this weekend.

The last time Lorient played at home they ran out 5-1 winners over fellow relegation contenders Metz, and the hosts' form figures at home to sides below the top six read W5-D1-L1 since November. Lorient have enjoyed tremendous support at home games over the past two months and should benefit from another large and noisy crowd this weekend.

Angers are not officially safe from relegation yet but they're six points and four places above the bottom three with just three rounds of matches left so it would take an extraordinary combination of results for them to go down. Angers' form is a concern: they've lost their last five fixtures in a row and the players seem distracted by the prospect of their French Cup final appearance against PSG at Stade de France on May 27.

Angers may rouse themselves enough to get a draw, which would virtually guarantee their presence in Ligue 1 next season. Lorient are worth considering to win at 2.20 but if you want the safety net of getting half your stakes back if the game ends all-square take a look at Lorient with a slight deficit on the Asian Handicap.

For a full guide to Asian Handicap betting click here.

Recommended Bet
Lorient -0&-0.5 Asian Handicap @ 1.90

Guingamp v Dijon (10th v 17th)
Sat, 19:00 BST

The relative motivation of these two sides suggests Guingamp's chances of winning are overrated at Stade du Roudourou on Saturday night.

The hosts are in mid-table and have been drifting along with nothing to play for virtually since the turn of the year. Guingamp went into the short winter break fifth in the table and have struggled to find anything to aim for during the second-half of the season.

Their results reflect this: Guingamp's 2017 Ligue 1 record is a dismal W4-D2-L10, with last weekend's apathetic performance at home to St Etienne (0-2) a potential guide to how this game will go.

Dijon are deep in the relegation battle so have everything to play for. They've produced spirited performances over the past fortnight - they ran out 3-2 winners over Angers two weeks ago before earning a creditable 0-0 draw at home to fifth-placed Bordeaux last weekend.

Battling for their lives near the foot of the table, Dijon should be able to avoid defeat at the very least if they play with the same attitude and application as they did last week. The big odds (3.50) on an away victory make the visitors a good Asian Handicap pick.

Recommended Bet
Dijon +0&+0.5 Asian Handicap @ 2.04

Marseille v Nice 
Sun, 20:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 1

This promises to be an exciting encounter between two sides that served up some terrific entertainment last weekend.

Marseille ran out 5-1 winners at Caen while Nice produced one of the best Ligue 1 performances of the year to defeat PSG 3-1, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the champions' hopes of successfully defending their title.

The hosts will be fired-up as they're chasing a European place. As things stand only the top five in Ligue 1 are guaranteed to play in Europe next season so Marseille, lying sixth, have to play to win.

Nice can still actually win the Ligue 1 title although their chances are extremely slim. They'd need to win their remaining three games and hope that the two teams above them, Monaco and PSG, drop a stack of points.

Yet Nice seem determined to finish the season as strongly as possible if their win over PSG last weekend is anything to go by. And, like Marseille, they have players in form in front of goal.

Mario Balotelli scored against PSG to take his tally for the season to 14 goals. He's netted at a rate of a goal every 111 minutes.

Ex-Newcastle United winger Florian Thauvin scored a hat-trick in their demolition of Caen. He's on 15 goals for the season - his best-ever tally in a single season - and will star alongside the equally dangerous Dimitri Payet and Bafetimbi Gomis.

With Marseille looking to win and Nice capable of exchanging attacking blows with the hosts, an open encounter is likely in front of a big crowd at Stade Velodrome.

Recommended Bet
Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.90