Ligue 1 Betting: Away sides the smartest selections

Local rivals Lyon and St Etienne are both worth supporting on their travels this weekend, writes James Eastham...

Hosts set to suffer more misery

Nimes vs Lyon (19th vs 10th)
Friday, 19:45 GMT
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video

Nimes go into this home fixture against Lyon with some serious problems on and off the pitch and it's hard to see them avoiding defeat against dangerous opposition.

The hosts from the south of France are joint-bottom of the table with 12 points and have yet to put together a meaningful run of form at any point this season. With a much smaller squad than last season owing to player sales over the summer, they've struggled to cope with the demands of fixtures in the top flight.

Nimes are W2-D2-L2 at home - the division's worst home record - and morale is low after their 6-0 defeat at Bordeaux on Tuesday night. After that setback manager Bernard Blaquart insisted he won't quit, but there have been problems behind the scenes for months, and these have seeped into the team's performances on the pitch.

Lyon suffered a setback of their own when they lost 1-0 at home to Lille on Tuesday night. Manager Rudi Garcia's W5-D1-L4 record is unconvincing in his first 10 matches in charge in all competitions, but Lyon ought to have the individual and collective ability to collect all three points against limited opposition.

Moussa Dembele, Houssem Aouar, Memphis Depay, Martin Terrier and Bertrand Traore (pictured below) should all be available. It's worth noting that Lyon have won two of their three Ligue 1 away games under Garcia, their sole defeat coming at Marseille, a far better team than Nimes. The price of 1.80 on the visitors is worth taking.

Underrated visitors the clever pick

Reims vs St Etienne (11th vs 5th)
Sunday, 14:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport Extra 3 and Betfair Live Video

It's hard to know why Reims are as short as 2.10 to win at home to St Etienne in the early Sunday afternoon kick-off. St Etienne are four points and six places above Reims in the Ligue 1 standings and have nothing to fear from this trip to Stade Auguste Delaune.

The visitors will be buzzing after their 4-1 midweek victory over Nice: despite a lengthy injury list St Etienne put the game to bed in impressively emphatic manner within an hour. Manager Claude Puel will be hopeful that a couple of his crocked men can return this weekend to give him the opportunity to freshen up the side.

Reims are awkward opponents yet rarely outplay the opposition. Their W2-D5-L1 home record makes them one of the division's draw specialists, and underlines the difficulties they've had in getting the better of visitors when playing at home.

St Etienne are W4-D0-L4 away from home. Significantly, all four of the sides they've lost to - Marseille, Lille, Angers and Rennes - are currently above Reims in the standings. That's another reason why the odds on a home win look too short.

Our advice would be to either lay the hosts at around evens, or back St Etienne Draw No Bet at 3.00. With the first selection, you'll make a profit if St Etienne win or if the game ends in a draw.