Ligue 1 Betting: Thierry Henry sacked but Monaco's problems set to continue

Dijon vs Monaco (18th vs 19th)
Sat, 19:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport Extra 2 and Betfair Live Video

Monaco are clear favourites to win at Dijon on Saturday night even though they go into the game in turmoil. The visitors have so many problems on and off the pitch that the hosts are the smart bet in this relegation battle.

Monaco manager Thierry Henry was suspended on Thursday night after a run of dreadful results, including two humiliating defeats in the past week alone. The Principality outfit lost 5-1 at home to Strasbourg last Saturday and then crashed out of the French Cup in a 3-1 home defeat to Ligue 2 Metz on Wednesday night.

The incident that may have sealed Henry's downfall, however, is the press conference he gave on Thursday afternoon in which he said that certain members of the first-team squad had been banished on the grounds that he wanted to work only with players looking to save the club from relegation rather than focusing on their individual futures. Within hours he was gone, with assistant manager Franck Passi stepping in to take charge on a temporary basis and ex-manager Leonardo Jardim on the point of returning to the club just three-and-a-half months after he was sacked.

A number of important Monaco players have recently returned from injury and the club's January signings - Naldo, Fode Ballo Toure, Cesc Fabregas and William Vainqueur - undoubtedly make the team stronger. Morale is so low and the season has been so chaotic on and off the pitch, however, Monaco cannot be backed with any confidence.

Dijon have a new manager of their own, with Antoine Kombouare having taken over a fortnight ago. We successfully backed Dijon to avoid defeat at home to Montpellier in Kombouare's first game in charge and are happy to do the same again. Dijon have been more organised since the new man took over and were 6-3 winners at St Etienne in the French Cup on Wednesday night.

Dijon will attract backers at 3.15, although we prefer the hosts on the Draw No Bet market.

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Dijon Draw No Bet vs Monaco @ 2.24