Ligue 1 Betting: Home teams the smart bets in France's top flight

Bordeaux v Amiens (8th v 17th)
Sat, 19:00 GMT
Live on Betfair Live Video

Gustavo Poyet has made a tremendous start as Bordeaux manager and the hosts are a good bet to collect three points this weekend.

Poyet took over last month and Bordeaux have won two out of two games on his watch: they beat highly-fancied Lyon in their first home outing under the new manager and followed up with an impressively professional 2-0 triumph at Strasbourg last weekend.

The Uruguayan has lifted the players' morale and there'll be no easing off this weekend as Bordeaux want to climb the table and eventually challenge for a European place.

Amiens are in terrible form. They've lost seven of their last nine Ligue 1 fixtures and are now just above the relegation positions.
Gael Kakuta was excellent in the autumn but has lost his way in recent weeks, and the other attackers aren't pulling their weight. Amiens have failed to score in six of their last nine outings.

Bordeaux are 1.50 to win so we prefer them on the Asian Handicap. With our selection you'll get your stakes back if Bordeaux win by a single goal and make a profit if they win by two goals or more.

Recommended Bet
Bordeaux -1.0 Asian Handicap @ 1.90

Metz v Montpellier (20th v 6th)
Sat, 19:00 GMT
Live on Betfair Live Video

Metz have had a tough week but look underrated at home to Montpellier this weekend.

Frederic Hantz's side lost 6-3 at Marseille last weekend and went out of the French Cup to Caen on penalties on Wednesday night (2-2 draw after extra-time).

Their form generally over the past two months has been excellent, though - Metz are W4-D2-L2 since early December and an even better W4-D2-L0 if you exclude their fixtures against top-four sides such as Marseille.

Metz are also unbeaten in their last five home games in all competitions and have everything to play for as they're looking to climb out of the relegation zone.

Metz's form figures make them a good option at 3.40 to win. The hosts may not collect all three points but those big odds give you an opportunity to back them on the Asian Handicap or Draw No Bet markets.

Montpellier are 14 places and 16 points above Metz in the table but Metz's dramatic improvement over the past two months makes the gap less relevant.

Montpellier have also reserved their best performances this season for clashes against Ligue 1's top sides. Their W3-D5-L3 overall away record shows that, statistically speaking, their chances of winning this weekend are slim.

Recommended Bet
Metz Draw No Bet @ 2.40

Lyon v Rennes (4th v 10th)
Sun, 20:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video

Lyon have everything to play for and plenty to prove this weekend and should be too strong for the faltering visitors.

The hosts will still be kicking themselves after letting a 2-0 lead slip at Monaco last weekend. Even though they played against ten men for the entire second-half they somehow ended up losing 3-2 against their direct rivals for a top-three place.

Lyon rarely play poorly two weeks in a row, however, so there's a good chance they'll bounce back this weekend. They were better at Montpellier (2-1) in the French Cup on Wednesday night and will be confident of collecting all three points, especially as they have excellent team news.

Rennes have some good players but cannot put together a run of results. Their 1-0 home defeat to Guingamp last weekend was their fifth loss in their last seven Ligue 1 matches.

It's worth noting that Rennes have struggled every time they've recently faced a top-four side such as Lyon: they lost 3-2 and 6-1 to PSG in two separate cup competitions in January, 4-1 at home to PSG in the league in December and 3-0 at home to Marseille last month.

Recommended Bet
Lyon -1.0 Asian Handicap @ 1.90