Ligue 1 Betting: PSG set to cruise to victory despite Neymar absence

The Ligue 1 leaders ought to make light of their big-name injuries this weekend, writes James Eastham...

Table-toppers to stand firm at the back

Troyes v PSG (18th v 1st)
Sat, 16:00 GMT

PSG have their all-important Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid next Tuesday so their priority this weekend will be picking up all three points with the minimum of fuss.

Unai Emery's visitors will post a professional performance while trying to save themselves to some degree for the crucial clash against Zinedine Zidane's side at Parc des Princes next week.

PSG are one of Europe's most formidable attacking sides but this weekend their strength may be their defence. Neymar is definitely out and fellow injured front player Kylian Mbappe - a doubt for the Real match - will almost certainly play no part in the game, either.

PSG have kept clean sheets in two victories over Marseille in two different competitions - Ligue 1 and the French Cup - over the past seven days. On both occasions their back four and goalkeeper looked excellent.

On the back of those performances Paris will be confident of keeping a clean sheet against limited hosts.

Troyes have the joint-third-worst scoring record in the division and have failed to find the net in five of their 10 games against professional opposition in all competitions since the start of the year.

Goals on the cards in basement battle

Metz v Toulouse (20th v 16th)
Sat, 19:00 GMT

Bottom club Metz have to go for broke to try to move out of the relegation positions and that should lead to an open contest against Toulouse this weekend.

Frederic Hantz's hosts have improved over the past three months but remain rooted to the foot of the table and time is running out.

Their urgent need for points and goals was evident in their 2-2 draw at Guingamp last weekend: Metz produced some highly effective attacking football but were also open at the back at times.

Similar strengths and weaknesses ought to be on show this weekend, and Toulouse are also capable of contributing to a high-scoring encounter.

Last weekend there were defensive deficiencies in Toulouse's performance but they showed character and also quality in attack to score two late goals to earn a 3-3 home draw against Monaco.

Strikers Andy Delort and Yaya Sanogo combined for Toulouse's late equaliser and the visitors have everything to play for as they remain relegation contenders.

Marseille home form the key to victory

Marseille v Nantes (3rd v 6th)
Sun, 20:00 GMT

Marseille will have a point to prove when they host faltering Nantes at Stade Velodrome on Sunday night.

The gap that separates Marseille from PSG was laid bare this week when Marseille lost 3-0 on two occasions against their fiercest rivals. First they were beaten by that scoreline in Ligue 1 last Sunday night, and then suffered a similar fate in the French Cup on Wednesday.

But Marseille's longer-term confidence should be unaffected as they have an excellent home record against all but the very best sides in Ligue 1.

Marseille are W9-D3-L1 at home and an even better W9-D1-L1 at home against non-top four sides.

Rudi Garcia's men are also capable of winning comfortably: seven of their nine home wins have come by a margin of two or more goals, and the same applies to 10 of their last 12 victories home or away in all competitions.

Having excelled during the first-half of the season Nantes have lost their way since the turn of the year.

Their 1-0 home defeat to struggling Amiens last weekend was their fifth loss in their last eight games in all competitions.

Given how they're playing it's hard to see Claudio Ranieri's visitors putting up much resistance.

Marseille are 1.52 to win so we prefer the hosts on the Asian Handicap.

RECOMMENDED BETS

Back PSG Win to Nil at Troyes @ 2.10

Back Metz v Toulouse Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.20

Back Marseille -1.0 Asian Handicap v Nantes @ 1.95