Ligue 1 Betting: New boss Sousa facing difficult weekend

Marseille to end long winless streak

Bordeaux vs Marseille (13th vs 5th)
Fri, 19:45 BST
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video

Paulo Sousa is a well-travelled coach but you sense Bordeaux will be one of the most challenging destinations on his nomadic managerial journey. The ex-Swansea and Leicester City boss took over as Bordeaux manager last month but is already finding out what a massive task lies ahead of him.

He's drawn his first three games in charge but will do well to avoid defeat when Bordeaux host Marseille this weekend. Bordeaux have a remarkable unbeaten home record against Marseille stretching back to 1977 but this could be the year that their successful streak finally comes to an end.

Not one member of Bordeaux's ideal starting line-up can be considered good enough to get into Marseille's Starting XI. The Bordeaux players may want to impress their new manager but they look jaded as a long and difficult season draws to a close. It would be foolish to expect too much from the hosts.

Marseille are seeking to maintain a top-four spot. The players have plenty to prove after throwing away a 2-0 lead at home to Angers last weekend (2-2). Mario Balotelli will yet again be the danger man: the Italy international has scored seven goals in nine games since joining l'OM in January.

St Etienne to maintain European push

Amiens vs St Etienne (17th vs 4th)
Sat, 19:00 BST
Live on Betfair Live Video

Given the difference in quality between these two sides the opportunity to back St Etienne at big odds on the Draw No Bet market is too good to overlook. The visitors are the class act of these two teams and will be confident of earning victory.

Amiens' home record counts against the hosts: they're W2-D0-L6 against top-eight teams so there's no reason to believe they'll be strong enough to avoid defeat against fourth-placed St Etienne. And while St Etienne's W4-D5-L6 away record is nothing to write home about, the visitors have won all three games to nil against the sides directly below Amiens in the standings. Motivation won't be a problem for St Etienne, either: they're locked in a five-way battle with Marseille, Reims, Montpellier and Nice for fourth spot, synonymous with a place in next season's Europa League.

More misery in store for Guingamp

Guingamp vs Monaco (19th vs 16th)
Sat, 19:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video

Monaco lost 1-0 at home to bottom club Caen last weekend but the result was misleading: Monaco dominated the game, hit the frame of the goal twice and Caen's former Marseille goalkeeper Brice Samba turned in one of his best performances of the season.

Lightning's unlikely to strike twice. Guingamp are next to bottom rather than bottom but don't appear strong enough to stop Monaco picking up all three points on Saturday night. As well as being a far better side Monaco have every reason to be motivated: a win would see them take another massive step towards Ligue 1 safety. They're eight points above the bottom three with eight rounds of matches to go.

Like Monaco, Guingamp brought in several new faces in the January transfer window, but in their case, it's had little positive impact on results or performances.Guingamp's W3-D4-L8 home record's a concern, and the fact they're weaker than Monaco all over the pitch makes it difficult to see how they'll avoid defeat.

RECOMMENDED BETS

Marseille to win at Bordeaux @ 2.22

St Etienne Draw No Bet at Amiens @ 1.80

Monaco to win at Guingamp @ 2.22