Ligue 1 Tips: PSG to put on show in front of star new boy Messi
James Eastham picks out the most interesting odds and the games to follow ahead of the second weekend of matches in the French top flight...
Paris to win in fine style
PSG vs Strasbourg
Sat, 20:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video
At the end of a crazy week PSG will be keen to put on a show at Parc des Princes on Saturday afternoon and should run out comfortable winners over Strasbourg.
Lionel Messi will be on the pitch in Paris on Saturday - but only as part of the pre-kick-off presentation of the club's raft of summer signings, alongside Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos and others.
For the second week running PSG will be considerably below strength: Neymar, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti are expected to play no part, having only recently returned to training after performing for their countries at international competitions over the summer.
Yet a weakened line-up Paris ran out 2-1 winners at Troyes last weekend and will be confident of producing a more commanding scoreline this time.
Keylor Navas, Achraf Hakimi, Gino Wijnaldum and Kylian Mbappe are all expected to start this Saturday evening so there will be plenty of quality on the pitch. And Strasbourg's defensive problems ought to play into the hosts' hands.
Strasbourg lost three centre-backs - Mohamed Simakan, Lamine Kone and Stefan Mitrovic - over the summer and have barely replaced any of them.
Under new manager Julien Stephan they conceded seven goals in five pre-season friendlies while failing to keep a single clean sheet, and lost 2-0 at home to Angers on Matchday 1 last weekend.
PSG are an expectedly short 1.23 to win this weekend but we have no problem backing the hosts on the Asian Handicap.
With our selection you'll get your stakes back if PSG win by two goals and make a profit if they win by three or more goals.
More struggles on cards for Lyon
Angers vs Lyon
Sun, 12:00 BST
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video
Angers have made an excellent start to the season and their new manager will be able to use insider knowledge to outwit Lyon this weekend.
Angers boss Gerard Baticle was on the coaching staff at Lyon for a decade until taking over at Angers this summer so he'll know all the tricks to get the better of the visitors this weekend.
Baticle has overseen a mini-revolution at Angers, changing the team's tactics and reinvigorating a squad that was crying out for a fresh start after growing stale under ex-boss Stephane Moulin.
At the start of pre-season Baticle put in place a new 3-4-1-2 formation and the Angers players responded with a series of impressive pre-season performances.
They carried their fine form into the first weekend of the campaign, running out convincing 2-0 winners at Strasbourg last Sunday afternoon.
Lyon's pre-season went far less smoothly as their players struggled to get to grips with new manager Peter Bosz's instructions.
They were less convincing than Angers last weekend, dropping points (1-1) at home to a Nantes side that only narrowly avoided relegation last season.
Lyon are odds-on favourites (1.86) to collect all three points this weekend yet Angers look likely to be far more competitive than the market suggests.
A lay of the visitors at 1.9 is the smart selection.
OM to dazzle at the Velodrome
Marseille vs Bordeaux
Sun, 19:45 BST
Live on BT Sport 1 and Betfair Live Video
Marseille produced a thrilling comeback to win 3-2 at Montpellier last weekend and are a good bet to follow up with a convincing win over Bordeaux in the big game on Sunday night.
OM fans are more excited than they've been for almost a decade about their team's prospects after a summer spending spree that has seen club president Pablo Longoria and manager Jorge Sampaoli rejuvenate the side with a set of fresh young signings.
William Saliba, Matteo Guendouzi, Cengiz Under and Konrad de la Fuente were all in the starting line-up last weekend having arrived with points to prove from bigger clubs over the summer.
Dimitri Payet (pictured above) scored twice as Marseille came from 2-0 down to claim victory, with the ex-West Ham United star looking in better physical shape than he has done for years.
Under new owner Gerard Lopez (who masterminded Lille's title triumph last season) Bordeaux may eventually come good this season but they are currently behind schedule and that hands them a massive handicap this weekend.
New Bordeaux manager Vladimir Petkovic got the job barely a week before the season began and has had virtually no time to get his ideas across. It was little surprise that a pieced-together Bordeaux were underwhelming in losing 2-0 at home to promoted Clermont last weekend.
Against a Marseille side buzzing after last weekend's win and keen to impress in front of an estimated Stade Velodrome crowd of 50,000 people, Bordeaux will struggle this weekend.
With our Asian Handicap selection, you'll get your stakes back if Marseille win by a single goal, and make a profit if Marseille win by two or more goals.
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