Ligue 1 Tips: PSG to lead charge on weekend of heavyweight triumphs

Ligue 1 Tips: PSG to lead charge on weekend of heavyweight triumphs

France's big-name clubs are the smartest picks to win this weekend, writes James Eastham...

Messi and co. to dazzle against champions

PSG vs Lille (1st vs 10th)
Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video
Fri, 20:00 BST

PSG have yet to really impress in Ligue 1 this season but have a fantastic opportunity to change that when they host Lille on Friday night.

Paris are a tremendous W9-D1-L1 from their opening 11 league games of the campaign but have rarely excited or dazzled the way most fans expected them to.

Lille are in poor form, however, handing PSG the chance to run out comfortable winners at Parc des Princes.

Lille could only draw 1-1 at home to lowly Brest last weekend, that stalemate coming a week after a 1-0 defeat at promoted Clermont.

Lille's away form in all competitions is an unimpressive W1-D2-L4. Those figures include three defeats from their last four matches, with Lille failing to score each time they lost.

Paris will not be short of motivation after what happened last season, either.

Mauricio Pochettino and his players are still smarting after Lille pipped them to the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title, handing the hosts an extra reason to want to win.

PSG are 1.37 to win but worth backing on the Asian Handicap (for more information on Asian Handicap betting, click here).

With our selection you'll make a profit if PSG win by two or more goals, sommething they're perfectly capable of doing against mediocre opposition.

Monaco resurgence set to continue

Brest vs Monaco (18th vs 8th)
Live on BT Sport 3 and Betfair Live Video
Sun, 16:00 GMT

Monaco have finally hit form and are a good bet to collect another three points on Sunday afternoon.

After a slow start to the season Niko Kovac's players have impressed in recent weeks and head into this game looking to continue to climb the table.

Monaco are W4-D0-L1 from their last five Ligue 1 games and their 3-1 win (h) vs Montpellier last weekend was arguably their best all-round performance of the season.

They should have too much quality for a Brest side still seeking their first win of the season.

Michel Der Zakarian's hosts are W0-D6-L5 and confidence is low.

In ex-Monaco youngster Romain Faivre Brest have a playmaker of immense promise but, Favire aside, the visitors have notably better players in most areas of the pitch.

Monaco are odds-on to win but don't let that put you off: the visitors are a smart selection to claim the points.

Bayo drama harms hosts' hopes

Clermont vs Marseille (14th vs 4th)
Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video
Sun, 19:45 GMT

Off-field issues have marred Clermont's preparations for this match and make Marseille a strong bet to win on Sunday night.

Clermont star striker Mohamed Bayo fled the scene after a car crash last weekend and ended up in custody for more than 24 hours.

He faces trial next June and has put the spotlight on the hosts for all the wrong reasons.

Bayo is unlikely to be in the ideal frame of mind for this match and that's a serious concern given his importance to the side.

The Guinea international was Ligue 2's top scorer as Clermont won promotion last season and has six goals from nine starts this term.

Without Bayo at his best Clermont become a very ordinary side and Marseille should take full advantage of that.

The hosts' open style of play should suit Marseille and visiting coach Jorge Sampaoli will demand that his players win after draws from their last two league games.

Inspired by Dimitri Payet (pictured above) - playing some of the best football of his career this season - the visitors are the smart bet to collect all three points at a good odds-against price.