Ligue 1 Tips: Back Montpellier at big odds to enjoy new manager 'bounce' | OneFootball

French Ligue 1

Alexandre Lacazette and Lyon deserve your support this weekend

After more winners last weekend to increase his season's profit, James Eastham reveals the smart selections on the latest round of French top flight games...

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Rennes vs Le Havre - Fri, 19:45

Rennes should be far too strong for Le Havre when the sides meet at Roazhan Park on Friday night. Rennes have under-performed at times this season but are much the better side man-for-man and a generally good home side.

Rennes have an array of attackers that would walk into many Ligue 1 sides. Rennes attacking midfielder Ludovic Blas has been in particularly good form, while colleagues Arnaud Kalimuendo, Amine Gouiri, Albert Gronbaek, and Jota, who scored their late equaliser vs Brest (1-1 away) last weekend, are all better than their Le Havre counterparts.

The visitors arrive in dreadful form: five defeats in a row, the last three without scoring while conceding 10 times. Manager Didier Digard will struggle to markedly improve things given how mediocre Le Havre's players are. The Normandy outfit were our 9/4 pre-season tip for relegation, and we're still happy with that selection.

Rennes are a short-priced 1.56 to win so we prefer the hosts on the Asian Handicap. With our selection, you'll get your stakes back if Rennes win by a single goal, and make a profit if they win by two or more goals.

Lyon vs Auxerre - Sun, 14:00

In-form Lyon are our top pick to triumph this weekend. Pierre Sage's side have won their last three Ligue 1 games and are well-placed to make it four on Sunday afternoon.

Lyon thrashed Le Havre 4-0 (away) last weekend with a performance that gave Auxerre fair warning of what they can expect here. Lyon might have won more comfortably, which is little surprise given the attacking riches they have.

Lyon manager Sage can call upon not only strikers Alexandre Lacazette, Georges Mikautadze and Gift Orban, but also wingers Wilfried Zaha, Said Benrahma, Malick Fofana and Ernest Nuamah, plus France U21 no.10 Rayan Cherki.

It's hard to see Auxerre putting up meaningful resistance. They've conceded an average of two goals a game this season, a figure that increases to 2.75 goals a game away from home. Against Lyon's considerable attacking threat, the visitors will wobble.

Lyon are 1.54 to win so we prefer Lyon on the Asian Handicap. With our selection, you'll get your stakes back if Lyon win by a single goal, and make a profit if Lyon win by two or more goals.

Montpellier vs Toulouse - Sun, 16:00

Montpellier's change of manager makes the hosts an attractive propostion at big odds here.

After their 5-0 home defeat to Marseille last Sunday Montpellier sacked boss Michel Der Zakarian. They replaced him with veteran Jean-Louis Gasset on Tuesday and the switch should reap rewards.

The players had grown stale under Der Zakarian so the change should prove a wake-up call. There's more talent in the Montpellier ranks than their current league position (bottom of the table) suggests.

There's no guarantee Montpellier will win, but the difference in quality between the sides is smaller than the market indicates, especially given the hosts' renewed motivation. Toulouse have hardly impressed this season: they've won just one of their opening eight games. They sit just two points and three places above Montpellier in the Ligue 1 table.

Montpellier are 3.25 to win, while Toulouse are 2.2 and The Draw is 3.5. At those prices, it's worth finding a way to support Montpellier. The Draw No Bet market is our preference with our pick, you'll get your stakes back if the game ends all-square, and win if the hosts earn all three points.

Recommended bets

Back Rennes -1.0 Asian Handicap at home to Le Havre @ 1.95Back Lyon -1.0 Asian Handicap at home to Auxerre @ 1.95Back Montpellier Draw No Bet vs Toulouse 7/5

James' 2024-25 P/L

Staked: 19ptsReturned: +22.07ptsP/L: +3.07pts