Ligue 1 Betting: Champions poised to post another masterclass

Leaders to make it eight in a row

Nice v PSG (11th v 1st)
Saturday 16:15 BST
Live on Betfair Live Video

PSG are serial record collectors and the opportunity to equal one dating back more than 80 years should inspire them to victory at the Allianz Riviera on Saturday afternoon.

Lille started the 1936-37 with eight straight victories and PSG will match that tally if they claim all three points on the Cote d'Azur this weekend. It would be madness to back against Thomas Tuchel's side right now given how they're playing: they've scored at least three goals in each of their seven Ligue 1 games, reserving their best performance of the season for their 4-1 victory over Reims on Wednesday night.

Even more frightening for Nice is the prospect of a hungry and determined Kylian Mbappe returning here after a three-match suspension. The World Cup winner will have had fidgety feet watching his team-mates from the touchlines so expect a turbo-boosted performance from him as he reminds us what we've missed over the past month.

Nice's W3-D1-L3 record sums up their inconsistency and their W1-D0-L2 home stats underline the problems they've had in front of their own fans. To make matters worse, flyer Allan Saint-Maximin - their best player this season, and the nearest thing they have to Mbappe - has nursed an ankle knock over the past 48 hours so may be less fleet-footed than usual.

PSG are 1.35 to win. Instead, back the visitors -1.5 Asian Handicap. PSG have won all seven Ligue 1 fixtures by two or more goals. For a guide to Asian Handicap betting, click here.

Hosts too strong in attack

Lyon v Nantes (2nd v 19th)
Saturday 19:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video

Nantes manager Miguel Cardoso's status as a dead man walking makes Lyon firm favourites to record a convincing win this weekend.

The Portuguese boss was appointed only this summer but well-informed local media sources believe this will be his final game in charge. Nantes' poor results (W1-D2-L4) and apparent confusion among the players about some of Cardoso's tactical decisionsmean that a new manager will almost certainly be in charge by the time Nantes' fixture against Bordeaux kicks-off next weekend.

Volatile Nantes president never seemed convinced of Cardoso's qualities - which is bizarre, given that Kita appointed him - and has taken every opportunity to criticise the manager publicly during the opening two months of the season. Given the lack of authority Cardoso has going into the game this weekend it's hard to see Nantes producing a coherent, effective performance.

Lyon are the last team (bar PSG) you'd want to face right now. The hosts go into this game on the back of three fantastic victories - 2-1 at Manchester City, 4-2 at home to Marseille, 3-0 at Dijon on Wednesday night - and have the class and variety to take Nantes apart at will. With six high-calibre attackers - Maxwel Cornet, Moussa Dembele, Memphis Depay, Nabil Fekir, Martin Terrier, Bertrand Traore - manager Bruno Genesio can maintain the standard and freshness of the front line from kick-off to the final whistle.

Lyon are 1.35 to collect all three points. The hosts with a -1.5 Asian Handicap start is a better selection.

Lack of goals to trip up Reims

Reims v Bordeaux (14th v 10th)
Saturday 19:00 BST
Live on Betfair Live Video

Reims are favourites yet their form doesn't justify their status ahead of their game on Saturday night.

Having won their opening two matches of the season Reims have since gone five matches without a victory (W0-D2-L3). A lack of goals is their main problem: they failed to replace last season's top scorer Jordan Siebatcheu after he moved to Rennes for £10.5 million over the summer and have netted just four times in seven games.

Bordeaux are improving. They've won their last two matches: they triumphed 3-1 at Guingamp and then beat Lille 1-0 on Wednesday night. Goalkeeper Benoit Costil needed to be at his best to secure the victory over Lille, but the attitude and effort of players all over the pitch impressed.

Bordeaux also have good strength in depth: Yann Karamoh, on loan from Inter, and Nicolas De Preville have scored from the bench in recent weeks. The visitors should avoid defeat so they're the Draw No Bet (DNB) selection.

RECOMMENDED BETS

PSG -1.5 Asian Handicap at Nice @ 1.95

Lyon -1.5 Asian Handicap v Nantes @ 1.95

Bordeaux Draw No Bet at Reims @ 2.30