Ligue 1: French favourites fancied to deliver

EUROPEAN football expert Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) highlights the value in France on Wednesday night.

Lyon v Angers | Wednesday 19:50

Lyon

• Lyon have reached their 31-point target set by club president Jean-Michel Aulas for Christmas following their victory over Monaco.
• Lyon produced their best performance of the season in the 3-1 Monaco win.
• Lyon have settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation and should have captain Maxime Gonalons back available.
• Alexandre Lacazette has 12 goals in 13 Ligue 1 matches and is supported by Nabil Fekir, Rachid Ghezzal and Mathieu Valbuena
• Lyon have W6-D0-L1 of their last 7 in Ligue 1.
• Lyon have W13-D2-L3 at home under Bruno Genesio, winning by 2+ goals in 9 victories, scoring 2+ in 12/18 and enjoying W/W in 12/18 at home.
• Lyon have W11/12 home games against bottom-6 sides, with W/W in 11/12.

Angers

• Angers have W0-D2-L4 in their last 6 and haven’t won since early November.
• Angers coach admitted side “were in difficulties” after poor 2-0 home defeat to local rivals Nantes last time out.
• Angers have conceded 2+ goals in their last 5.
• Angers have lost 7/10 away and 15/28 away since the start of last season.
• Angers have lost three players to cruciate ligament injuries this season – Yoann Andreu, Billy Ketkéophomphone and Alexandre Letellier.

Back Lyon -1.5 Asian Handicap at 19/17 (BetVictor)

Monaco v Caen | Wednesday 19:50

Monaco

• Monaco lost 3-1 at home to Lyon at the weekend having previously won 3 games on the spin by an aggregate 16-0 in Ligue 1.
• Monaco have now W7-D0-L1 at home.
• Monaco have won by 2+ goals in 8/11 home games against the bottom-6.
• Monaco have seen 14/16 games produce Over 2.5 Goals and 7/9 home games feature Over 3.5 Goals.
• Monaco have scored 32 home goals in 9 games – 3.55 goals per-game.
• Monaco have struggled down the flanks defensively and are missing full-back Benjamin Mendy through suspension.
• Monaco have only kept 4/9 home clean sheets this season.

Caen

• Caen are only 3 points clear of rock-bottom but did beat Metz at the weekend – keeping their first clean sheet in 10 games.
• Caen have lost 7/8 away matches and lost 12/16 away.
• Caen have seen 7 of their last 12 away defeats arrive by 2+ goals.
• Caen have only kept 3/27 clean sheets away since the start of last season.
• Caen have the 18th worst defensive record in Ligue 1.
• Caen do boast menace through wingers Yann Karamoh and Ronny Rodelin.

Back Monaco to win and Over 2.5 Goals at 8/11 (Paddy Power).

PSG v Lorient | Wednesday 19:50

PSG

• PSG have suffered 4 league defeats this season, their latest against Guingamp on Saturday.
• PSG have W0-D1-L2 in their last 3 – Marco Verratti admitting they’re in crisis as they’re in the midst of their worst run since 2011.
• PSG have now conceded 2+ goals in 4/5 games across all competitions and failed to keep a clean sheet in 7/8.
• PSG have scored 2+ goals in 31/36 home games, including each of their last 4.
• PSG have won 64/85 (75%) of home Ligue 1 games since 2012/13.

Lorient

• Lorient have W2-D2-L2 under Benard Casoni but remain bottom of the table, as they have been since October.
• Lorient have scored 11 goals and conceded 13 in their 6 games under Casoni – seeing 4.00 goals per-game on average.
• Lorient have scored 2+ goals in each of their last 5 games with front-three Majeed Waris, Benjamin Moukandjo and Sylvain Marveaux all in-form.
• Lorient have seen Over 2.5 Goals in each of their last 8 Ligue 1 games.
• Lorient are winless away from home but have scored in 4/5 away games.
• Lorient have W4-D8-L16 away since the start of last season but 19 (68%) of those games saw BTTS bank.

Back PSG to win and Both Teams To Score at 13/8 (Betway)

Best Bets

Lyon v Angers – Lyon -1.5 Asian Handicap (19/17 BetVictor)

Monaco v Caen – Monaco to win and Over 2.5 Goals (8/11 Paddy Power)

PSG v Lorient – PSG to win and Both Teams To Score (13/8 Betway)

TOPICS European Football