Ligue 1 Betting: Cash in on new boys Arles' top-flight troubles

French Football / James Eastham / 25 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Rennes' multi-talented side celebrates Moussa Sow's header in their 1-1 opening-day draw against Lille at Stade de la Route de Lorient

Recommended bets: Rennes to win at Arles @ [2.40]; Caen v Brest draw @ [3.40].

After three winners on the midweek Champions League qualifiers, James Eastham returns to French football duty and picks out two top betting opportunities across this weekend's fixtures. Best bet: Rennes to win at Arles @ [2.40].

Arles (20th) v Rennes (3rd) (6pm, Saturday UK time)

Newly-promoted Arles have lost their opening three league games of the season, and their dire performances suggest they're set for a rapid return to the second tier of French football.

We made money backing Toulouse on the Asian handicap (-0.75) at home to Arles last weekend, and the general consensus was that Toulouse ought to have won by a far greater margin than the 2-1 final scoreline. On the early evidence, Arles have spent heavily but not necessarily well over the summer.

Last weekend, debutants Angelos Basinas, Angelos Charisteas and one-time France playmaker Camel Meriem looked weeks short of full fitness, while the central defensive partnership of former Real Madrid player Alvaro Mejia and Morocco international El-Amin Erbate (who had a short, unimpressive spell at Marseille two seasons ago) will flounder against better teams.

I'm shocked Rennes are such long odds to win. Unbeaten in their opening three league games, their side contains several players among the best in the division in their positions: right-back Romain Danze, centre-half Kader Mangane, France midfielder Yann Mvila, ex-Inter schemer Stephane Dalmat and ageless playmaker Jerome Leroy. Even the absence of outstanding left-sided midfielder Sylvain Marveaux has done little to diminish the standard of their performances so far: understudy Yacine Brahimi begun 2010-11 in sparkling fashion.

The price fails to reflect the gulf in class between these two sides.

Caen (2nd) v Brest (19th) (8pm, Sat)

Caen have made a sensational start on their return to Ligue 1: they beat Marseille (2-1) and Lyon (3-2) in their opening two games and maintained their unbeaten record at Montpellier last weekend (0-0) thanks to an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux.

Brest's results have poor - they lost 2-0 at Toulouse and 1-0 at Lyon, with a 1-1 home draw against Auxerre in between those defeats - but their performances have been good and their fortunes will improve once their summer signings settle in. Czech midfielder Mario Licka has already impressed, securing France U21 midfielder Granddi Ngoyi on loan from PSG was a smart move and Richard Soumah will be a bargain at 500,000 euro should he emulate his Guingamp form of 2008-09, when he was the best player in France's second division.

Little separated these sides in Ligue 2 last season - Caen were promoted as champions, but Brest picked up more points during the second-half of the campaign - and I expect a close encounter this weekend. Back a draw at Stade Michel d'Ornano.

* James Eastham has started 2010-11 with two out of two 'best bet' winners and an overall profit of 1.42pts (after 5% commission) from 6pts staked on Ligue 1 matches