Ligue 1 Matchday 12 Odds: Preview, Breakdown, Best Bets
PSG Keep top Spot With Le Classique Win
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Lens and Lorient Continue to Impress
Another year, another excellent PSG start. The Parisians got a big win in Le Classique vs. Marseille on Sunday and are now three points clear of second place Lorient. That’s not a typo, incredibly Lorient and Lens currently round out the Champions League places. Regardless, PSG aim to widen the gap in an intriguing weekend of Ligue 1 soccer. We’ll cover PSG, the top-four matchup between Marseille and Lens and more in this Ligue 1 Matchday 12 odds preview.
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Games of the Weekend:
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AC Ajaccio vs. PSG:
Paris Saint-Germain odds price PSG as -400 favorites.
Newly promoted Ajaccio had a rough start to their return to Ligue 1. They gained just one point from their first seven matches and have been in the relegation zone all season. However, they’ve won two of their last four matches and bafflingly defeated Marseille on the road a couple of weeks ago. They’ll hope to repeat that magic when they take on PSG on Friday.
PSG are the only remaining unbeaten team in Ligue 1 and got a 1-0 win over Marseille in Le Classique on Sunday. Neymar scored the winning goal and he’s been the best player in the league this season. The mercurial Brazilian has nine goals and seven assists so far and has an absurd 41 percent goal conversion percentage. With him, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe all in good form, the AC Ajaccio vs. Paris Saint-Germain odds price PSG as -400 favorites.
Ajaccio still haven’t won a home match this season and have been the league’s lowest scoring outfit so far. Meanwhile, PSG have kept seven shutouts in 11 matches this season and are expected to stop Ajaccio from scoring. Ajaccio, who are +1000 home underdogs, haven’t beaten PSG since 2006.
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Marseille vs. Lens:
After opening up the season undefeated in their first nine matches, Marseille have dropped their last two. OM have dropped to fourth in the table and face a tricky Lens side on Saturday. Lens are sitting pretty in third place and have typically been involved in low scoring matches. Their last six Ligue 1 matches have finished with two goals or fewer. So, one of the best soccer betting strategies of the season so far has been taking the under in Lens matches.
Still, both over and under 2½ goals show -110 odds for Saturday’s match. Marseille are the lowest-scoring team of any team in the top seven places, though. In this matchup of two of the league’s top three defenses, Marseille are favored. However, they’re priced at longer than even odds, at +105. Marseille’s losses have been sandwiched in between Champions League wins, so it’ll be interesting to see how they perform without a midweek match. Since joining from Inter over the Summer, Alexis Sanchez is Marseille’s leading scorer, with four goals.
Strangely enough, the road team is unbeaten in the last five meetings between these two sides. A draw is priced at +260 odds, while Lens sit at +250 odds to get a third straight road victory over Marseille. Last season, Lens won 3-2 in this fixture as Florian Sotoca, Przemyslaw Frankowski and Wesley Said all got on the scoresheet.
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Lille vs. Monaco:
They’ve both had their ups and downs this season but Lille and Monaco have been two of the best teams in Ligue 1 in the last few seasons. In fact, they’re the two most recent teams, other than PSG, to win the Ligue 1 title. Lille and Monaco come into this match in seventh and sixth place, respectively. A win for either side would bring them within striking distance of a Champions League place.
The Ligue 1 Matchday 12 odds price Lille as slight +145 favorites in the last match of the weekend. This is expected to be a close one and it’s listed as a pick’em. Monaco are +160 underdogs but are no stranger to winning away at Lille. The Monegasques have won four of their last five matches at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Both teams have also scored in four of the last five and BTTS shows -175 odds for Sunday’s match. Monaco are on a six-match unbeaten run in Ligue 1 while Lille have won their last two. Lille’s Jonathan David is tied with Neymar for the Ligue 1 lead in goals, with nine. Meanwhile, both Breel Embolo and Wissam Ben Yedder are big goal threats for Monaco.
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Other Matches to Watch
The Ligue 1 coaching carousel continues to spin. Montpellier and Lyon have both sacked coaches in the span of a few weeks. Montpellier’s Olivier Dall’Oglio was canned on Monday after a third consecutive loss and replaced by assistant Romain Pitau. Meanwhile, Laurent Blanc lost his first match at the helm of OL after Peter Bosz was fired. Both Montpellier and Lyon have frequently scored and conceded this season, so it could be chaotic when they meet on Saturday. The Ligue 1 Matchday 12 odds price Lyon as -120 favorites but they’re winless in their last six.
Rennes handed Lyon a 3-2 defeat last weekend and head on the road to face Angers on Sunday. SRFC are on a ten-match unbeaten run in all competitions and have a three-game winning streak in Ligue 1. That’s currently the longest streak in the league and they’ve scored three goals in each match on it. Over 2½ goals sits at -140 odds and Rennes are -125 road favorites. Martin Terrier already has seven goals this season, including four on the winning streak. Meanwhile, Angers have lost their last three matches.
Lorient have been an interesting team for betting on Ligue 1 matchups this season. They’ve completely outperformed expectations and somehow sit in second place. Their six-game winning streak came to an end last Saturday as they drew 0-0 with Reims. Still, they have a winnable match at Troyes on the Ligue 1 schedule this weekend. Troyes, who are winless in their last three, are +140 home favorites. The oddsmakers seem to think Lorient’s form is a fluke, as they show just +190 odds to win.
