5 Expert Picks
PSG will be looking ahead. ...
I know this is juicy, but I'd take over 3.5 goals as well. ...
Lille will have to deal with a ticked off Lens side. ...
These two teams have a combined 20 draws this season. ...
Monaco currently have the best streak in Ligue 1. ...
Is the wrong team a slight favorite in this Ligue 1 match Sunday? Perhaps as Lyon is two spots and four points higher in the table than AS Monaco. It also won the reverse fixture 3-1 on Jan. 3. But I get it as the visitors -- behind Team USA's Falorin Balogun -- are rolling and the hosts are winless in five in all competitions -- but four of those were draws and all we want here. They have yet to lose a league match at home in 2026 with two total goals conceded.
Big one from Ligue 1 regarding next season's European football with Rennes sitting sixth, two points up on seventh-place Lille. The Red and Blacks haven't dropped a point since installing Franck Haise as manager. They look to sweep both top-flight matches vs. Lille in the same campaign for the first time since 2017-18 thanks to a 2-0 road win on Jan. 3. Lille could be a bit gassed having just played a Europa League match Thursday.
Angers sits 11th in Ligue 1 and Nice 15th so, again, I'm not really sure why the home team is the dog. There don't appear to be any major player issues for Angers -- which kept its fifth home clean sheet of the domestic season last time out and tries for consecutive league shutouts for a third time. Nice has a single win in the past 15 league fixtures and has been blanked in three straight matches in all competitions. Angers won the reverse fixture 1-0 in December on a Yassin Belkhdim 33rd-minute goal.
Toulouse and Marseille played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the French Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night. It went to a penalty shootout, which Toulouse won. The teams will renew hostilities immediately on Saturday, when they meet in the league, and it should be another entertaining game. Matches featuring Marseille have averaged 3.50 goals this season, with two-thirds of them going over 2.5 goals. Toulouse’s home games have averaged 3.00 goals, so over 2.5 goals looks like a great bet on this match.
Monaco were unlucky to lose 5-4 on aggregate to PSG in the Champions League playoffs last month. They were 2-1 up in the home leg, but Alexandr Golovin was sent off, and they ended up losing 3-2. Monaco then drew 2-2 with PSG in Paris, despite having Mamadou Coulibaly sent off on 58 minutes. Once again, they were winning when he was shown a red card. If they can keep 11 players on the pitch, they could give PSG a run for their money on Friday. Monaco are unbeaten in their last six league games, so they should be competitive.
Pressure in this return match on L’Om after an earlier 1-0 loss on August 31...well before Lyon added Endrick from Real Madrid in the January transfer window. Scoring five goals in his seven appearances, the young Brazilian has added a cutting edge and his presence helped trigger a recent torrid Lyon patch of 13 straight unbeaten (a stretch that began in December and before Endrick’s arrival) before last weekend’s loss at capable Strasbourg. Whether we can call Marseille that much now is in doubt as recent form has been suspect, so much so that coach Roberto de Zerbi was sacked on February 19 after a desultory stretch, though things hardly improved under Habib Bye in last week’s 2-0 loss to Brest. Play Lyon on Spread
I knew it would come to this eventually on my favorite soccer/footy play regarding Draw No Bet. What's the number limit? Moneyline -200? Heck no. But getting the draw looped in? I think this is reasonable and probably should be in the -270 range. Lorient (that is really fun to say for some reason) is 15 points ahead of Auxerre in the Ligue 1 table .That's not everything but not nothing. In college basketball, although this is a terrible metaphor since I haven't gotten one of those right in weeks, we love backing a team to avoid a conference sweep. Kinda same here. Lorient lost 1-0 at Auxerre in the season opener. You know, same drill. I doubt this loses but may push.
Sacré bleu! What's up with this price? Especially as Lyon has been the hottest side in France for over a month, roaring up the Ligue Un table all of the way to third place. And while PSG is probably too far over the horizon to catch, Lyon is positionming itself for a return to the Champions League next fall. Recently-added Endrick, forced to sit the last game due to red cards, should be on pitch and ready to deal after scoring five times in six matches since being loaned from Real Madrid. Though another positive has been Slovakian GK Dominik Greif keeping clean sheets in his last three starts. Meanwhile, Strasbourg's domestic form has suffered this month, winless in three. Play Lyon on ML
Nice, despite its tough season, might be catching a break in Ligue Un as Auxerre, Nantes, and Metz have struggled so badly this season that those three have separated from the rest of the league and look destined to go down. So, no real immediate relegation worries for Nice. That's the good news. The bad news is running into a red-hot Lyon that has moved up to third in the table on the heels of six straight wins. The addition of livewire Brazilian Endrick on loan from Real Madrid has provided a boost, though defensive work has also excelled, and Sloakian GK Dominik Greif is off a pair of clean sheets in February and 1-0 wins over Lilles and Nantes. Play Lyon on Asian Line
Nice has recorded just one win in league play across their last 11 matches, and now they'll take on an in-form Lyon side that has won six straight Ligue 1 fixtures. Lyon has conceded only 20 goals this season, the third-fewest in the league. Lyon has recorded a clean sheet in three of their last four league games at home, a big reason why I'm backing the home side to collect all three points.