Ligue 1 Tips: Back Lens and Monaco to secure big victories

James Eastham
17 March 2023
3:00 min read

France and Monaco striker Wissam Ben Yedder

Wissam Ben Yedder has been in sensational form for Monaco this season

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James Eastham looks at the final round of Ligue 1 matches before the international break and reveals the smart selections...

Two winners from two picks last weekend
Toulouse vs Lille to serve up goals
Lens to thrash Angers
Back Monaco to win at Ajaccio

Goals the smart selection

Toulouse vs Lille (11th vs 6th)
Sat, 16:00 GMT
Live on Betfair Live Video

An open and entertaining game is on the cards here and high goals is the pick.

Toulouse's fixtures have been high-scoring all season: 18 of their 27 league games have had Over 2.5 Goals. The same applies to 15 of Lille's 27 games.

Lille's team news also suggests there will be chances and goals. Three members - Tiago Djalo, Bafode Diakite and Ismaily - of Lille's first-choice back four are ruled out this weekend.

Those absences make the chance of Toulouse being dangerous even bigger, and mean Lille will have to rely even more strongly on their considerable attacking firepower.

Jonathan David scored a hat-trick for Lille in their 3-3 home draw against Lyon last weekend, while Remy Cabella, Jonathan Bamba and Angel Gomes have all thrived at different times for Lille this season.

Over 2.5 Goals is available at 1.728/11. For slightly bigger odds on the game having three or more goals, back Over 2.5 & 3.0 on the Goal Lines market.

With the Goal Lines pick, you'll make a small profit if the game has three goals, and a bigger profit if the game has four or more goals.

Toulouse vs Lille Over 2.5 & 3.0 on the Goal Lines market

1.9

Sorry Angers to lose again

Lens vs Angers (3rd vs 20th)
Sat, 20:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport 5 and Betfair Live Video

The difference in class between these two sides is so big that it should be a straightforward home victory and Lens are capable of winning by a couple of goals.

Lens will be playing in front of a hugely supportive 37,000 sell-out crowd and will be buzzing after their 4-0 away win vs Clermont last weekend.

Lois Openda scored the quickest Ligue 1 hat-trick in more than half a century in that match and he and his team-mates will be confident of racking up another easy win here.

Angers are rooted to the foot of the table and are destined to go down. They've lost 21 of their 27 league matches this season and are currently managerless.

There are a stack of other problems on and off the pitch for Angers. It's difficult to see how their crestfallen players can find the resistance to stem the flow of play that threatens to overwhelm their defence.

Lens are an understandably short 1.271/4 to collect all three points. For bigger odds, we prefer backing Lens on the Asian Handicap.

With our pick, you'll make a profit as long as Lens win by two or more goals, something they're fully capable of doing. For a full guide to Asian Handicap betting, click here.

Lens -1.5 & -2.0 Asian Handicap

2.1

Ben Yedder key to away win

Ajaccio vs Monaco (18th vs 4th)
Sun, 12:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video

Monaco are in poor form but their trip to Corsica this weekend hands them the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways.

Philippe Clement's Principality outfit have lost two of their last three matches but should have too much class for the beleaguered hosts.

Monaco are 14 places and 30 points above Ajaccio in the table. Monaco also have a fine away record: they're W8-D4-L1 on the road.

In Wissam Ben Yedder (16 goals at a rate of a goal every 88 minutes this season) Monaco have one of the division's best finishers and he'll relish facing one of the division's weakest defences.

Monaco shouldn't need to create too many chances to win the game, either, as Ajaccio have so little quality at the other end of the pitch.

Ajaccio are the division's lowest scorers (20 goals in 27 matches). Their inability to add a Ligue 1-standard finisher to their ranks following promotion last spring is really hurting them now.

Monaco are 1.758/11 to collect all three points. For bigger odds on a Monaco win, back the visitors -0.5 & -1.0 Asian Handicap at 2.01/1. With this pick, you'll make a small profit if Monaco win by a single goal, and a bigger profit if Monaco win by two or more goals.

Monaco -0.5 & -1.0 Asian Handicap

2.0