Ligue 1 Betting: Star man Khazri to turn Lyon green with envy

Pepe to inspire hosts once again

Lille vs Amiens (2nd vs 17th)
Friday, 19:45 GMT
Live on BT Sport ESPN and Betfair Live Video

Lille continue to surprise and entertain near the top of the table and are a good bet to collect all three points on Friday night. They have a full complement of attacking players available and that spells danger for struggling visitors Amiens.

Lille are Ligue 1's third-highest scorers (32 goals in 20 games) and showcased their attacking firepower when they won 3-1 at Caen last weekend. In Nicolas Pepe (13 goals, seven assists) they have one of the French top flight's outstanding players, while Jonathan Bamba, Jonathan Ikone and Rafael Leao form an excellent supporting cast across the front line.

With Lens and Valenciennes playing in Ligue 2 these days this is the nearest thing Lille will have to a local derby this season. Not that the short journey should make the evening any easier for Amiens fans. The visitors have the division's worst away record (W2-D2-L6)and this trip is likely to end in defeat as well.

Without Benin centre-back Khaled Adenon (suspended) Amiens will be more vulnerable in defence. Iran attacker Saman Ghoddos is on Asia Cup duty while the ongoing injury absence of last season's 13-goal top scorer Moussa Konate leaves Amiens desperately short of a goals threat.

We successfully opposed Amiens last weekend and are happy to do so again. Lille are 1.75 to win so for bigger odds we prefer backing them on the Asian Handicap. For a full guide to Asian Handicap betting, click here.

Strong home record key for hosts

St Etienne vs Lyon (3rd v 4th)
Sunday, 20:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport 1 and Betfair Live Video

St Etienne go into this derby ahead of rivals Lyon in the Ligue 1 standings and the hosts are playing so well at the moment, they ought to avoid defeat this weekend.

Their latest great result was on Wednesday night when they came from 1-0 down to beat top-three rivals Marseille 2-1. Ex-Sunderland attacker Wahbi Khazri scored both goals to take his tally for the season to 12 and underline his status as one of Ligue 1's best players right now.

Only PSG have a better home record than St Etienne: les Verts are W8-D2-L0 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard and have won each of their last five home games. They'll draw further confidence from the fact they've scored at least twice in eight of their 10 home matches.

Lyon will be no pushovers, of course, but they're not been at their best this season: they sit two points behind St Etienne in the Ligue 1 table and their away record is a mediocre W3-D4-L2. Lyon's only three away wins came against struggling Angers, Dijon and Guingamp, currently 15th, 18th and 20th respectively in the table. That hardly bodes well for this trip.

Given all the factors in their favour St Etienne are a tempting selection at 2.90. We prefer the safety net of the Draw No Bet market, however, with the hosts available at around evens.

RECOMMENDED BETS

Lille -0.5&-1.0 Asian Handicap vs Amiens @ 2.00

St Etienne Draw No Bet vs Lyon @ 2.20