Ligue 1 Betting: Neymar and Mbappe to end year in style

Top two PSG and Marseille are the teams to back as Ligue 1 bids farewell to 2019, writes James Eastham...

Hosts to sign off with a flourish

PSG vs Amiens (1st vs 17th)
Sat, 19:45 GMT
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video

PSG are 1.10 favourites this weekend and stand every chance of bringing 2019 to an end in spectacular fashion. The hosts go into the game in tremendous form and ought to extend their run of impressive results against a weak Amiens side.

Thomas Tuchel's team are on a five-game winning streak and have averaged 3.6 goals a game across those five matches. Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are likely to start on Saturday night and should get plenty of opportunities to add to the 10 goals the pair have scored between them during December to date.

Amiens are languishing near the foot of the table and have Ligue 1's second-worst defensive record. It's hard to see how they can put up meaningful resistance against hosts that are vastly superior to them in all areas of the field.

The question, as ever, is: how to make PSG pay? They're around evens with a -3.0 Asian Handicap start and you need to go as high as 4.5 Goals to find an overs price at odds-against in the Unders/Overs markets. As an alternative, have a look at the PSG Win Both Halves market. 'Yes' will be available at a decent odds-on price when this market has liquidity. In order to make a profit you need to treat to two halves of football as two separate 45-minute matches, and PSG to win both.

Monaco vs Lille (9th vs 3rd)
Sat, 19:45 GMT
Live on BT Sport Extra 2 and Betfair Live Video

The French media are awash with stories that Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim (pictured below) might be sacked if Monaco fail to beat Lille this weekend. Jardim's superiors are unhappy at the slow rate of progress of the side during the Portuguese boss' second spell at Monaco and it appears their patience may be about to run out.

The league table lays bear the issue: Monaco are six points and six places off the top-three positions, which is simply not good enough considering their summer outlay on new players and the star-studded nature of their squad. Results and performances have been erratic all season and the visit of in-form Lille is hardly what Jardim needs.

Jardim's job on line

Lille are on a four-game winning streak in Ligue 1, a run that has seen them climb up into third place. After taking four months to settle in, Renato Sanches has finally found his feet in northern France: the Portugal international has been excellent in recent weeks and a key factor in Lille's improvement.

When these two sides met in the League Cup in Monaco in midweek Lille ran out 3-0 winners. An equally emphatic victory this weekend would be a surprise, but Lille ought to be strong enough to avoid defeat. Lay Monaco at 2.20, or back Lille on the Draw No Bet market at 2.60.

Marseille to win at home again

Marseille vs Nimes (2nd vs 19th)
Sat, 19:45 GMT
Live on Betfair Live Video

There was a rare setback for Marseille when they dropped points at Metz (1-1) last weekend but that will make Andre Villas-Boas' players all the keener to end the year on a high note with an emphatic victory over Nimes.

Marseille are W6-D2-L0 at home since an opening-day defeat to Reims (0-2) and have won five on the bounce at Stade Velodrome. So often in the past their home venue has made the players fearful, yet the atmosphere there is tremendous at the moment, with Villas-Boas and his players enjoying the fans' backing.

Nimes are on an 11-game winless streak (W0-D4-L7) and have lost their last three Ligue 1 fixtures, conceding 11 goals in the process. They have problems on and off the field, and poorer team news than Marseille this weekend, too, handing the hosts another advantage.

Marseille are 1.32 to win. Given the gulf in form and quality between the two side, Marseille are a strong selection at -1.5 Asian Handicap.