Ligue 1 Matchday 34 Odds & Preview: Messi Suspended During PSG’s Title Push
Lens Take on Marseille in Top Three Clash
Messi Suspended During PSG’s Title Push
It’s been an eventful week in French football. Toulouse won their first-ever major honor by defeating Nantes 5-1 in the Coupe de France final. One day later, leaders PSG fell 3-1 to Lorient and now hold just a five-point lead over second-place Marseille. With five games to go, PSG don’t have too much more room for error. Following their loss, Lionel Messi chartered an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, where he’s a tourism ambassador. As a result, the club suspended Messi for the next two matches and reportedly won’t renew his contract for the 2023-24 season. We’ll take a look at how the Parisians will get on without the World Cup winner as we preview the Ligue 1 Matchday 34 odds.
Match of the Week
Lens vs Marseille
Date, time:
Two of the top three teams in the Ligue 1 standings meet on Saturday as Lens take on Marseille. Ligue 1 is an outlier among the big five European leagues as only the top three teams qualify for next season’s Champions League. Furthermore, the third-placed team needs to qualify for the group stage by progressing through the playoff.
So, both Lens and OM very much want to finish the season in the top two. Currently, Marseille are in second place, while third-placed Lens are just one point behind.
Lens have lost just one of the last five meetings between these two sides and are +130 moneyline favorites here. Lens managed a 1-0 win at the Velodrome in the reverse fixture but OM did win at Lens last season. In this pick’em, the hosts come in at -150 odds to cover the spread, while Marseille show +120 odds.
Lens’ Lois Openda scored his 17th goal of the season as Lens defeated Coupe de France champions Toulouse on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Marseille won their third straight match as they took down Auxerre 2-1 last weekend. They display +200 odds to extend their winning streak to four.
Just one of the last eight fixtures between these sides have finished in draws and another sits at +250 odds. Notably, Lens have been Ligue 1’s best home team this season. They’ve put together an excellent 14-1-1 record at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in 2022-23.
Lens have also conceded just 0.7 goals per game at home but Marseille have been the league’s best road side. They’ve gone 12-3-1 away from home and average nearly two goals per game on the road. Over 2.5 goals show -125 odds for this one.
Other Important Matches
Nice vs Rennes
Date, time:
Nice snapped a three-game losing streak by picking up a 1-0 win at Troyes on Matchday 33. They’ll host Rennes on Matchday 34, who have won two of their last three matches.
Most recently, Rennes defeated Angers 4-2 as Jeremy Doku scored twice. Doku has scored four times in his last three games and is excelling with Martin Terrier out. Nice have won just one of their last eight matches across all competitions but are favorites, according to the Ligue 1 Matchday 34 odds.
Earlier this season, Rennes’ Benjamin Bourigeaud scored a late winner vs. Nice. Still, Nice are -125 favorites to cover the spread in this pick’em, while Rennes pk displays -105 odds.
The moneylines are quite tight as Nice come in at +165 odds, Rennes show +175 odds and a draw is priced at +225. Rennes are unbeaten in their last three matches at Nice but they’ve been below average on the road this season. SRFC have compiled just a 4-5-7 record away from home this season.
Nice haven’t been great at home either, with a 5-6-5 record. Forward Nicolas Pepe is also in danger of missing his fourth straight match.
Defender Jean-Clair Todibo also missed the match vs. Troyes and is day-to-day. Meanwhile, Terrier and Adrien Truffert are out for the season for Rennes. While Nice haven’t consistently picked up three points at home, their matches have been low scoring.
Nice’s home matches have averaged just 2.19 goals this season. So, it’s not a big surprise that the oddsmakers are pricing under 2.5 goals at -140.
Nantes vs Strasbourg
Date, time:
Nantes haven’t won a match in a month and are coming off a rough week. Last Saturday, they failed to defend their Coupe de France title and fell 5-1 to Toulouse in the final. Then, they lost 2-0 to Brest on Wednesday, which dropped them into the relegation zone.
FC Nantes face a must-win vs. 16th-placed Strasbourg on Sunday as both teams desperately attempt to avoid the drop. Comparing their remaining Ligue 1 schedules, Nantes do have the easier fixtures. Nantes face just one team in the top half, while Strasbourg still need to play Nice, PSG and Lorient.
With that in mind, there should be urgency from Strasbourg to get a result. After all, they are only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference. While Strasbourg have won two of their last three matches, Nantes’ last Ligue 1 win was almost three months ago.
This match is expected to be extremely competitive, as both sides show -115 odds to cover in this pick’em. Their moneylines are also identical, at +165. The last time these teams met, it finished in a 1-1 draw and another displays +235 odds.
Nantes’ Andy Delort missed Wednesday’s match with a knock and the attacker’s status is worth monitoring in the lead up to Sunday’s match. Midfielder Pedro Chirivella is also out for the season.
Strasbourg defender Gerzino Nyamsi is also out for this one. Playing at home this season hasn’t meant too much for Nantes as they hold just a 4-8-4 record there. In an incredibly important match for both sides, under 2.5 goals come in at -130 odds. Strasbourg will undoubtedly be satisfied with a point away from home here if they can manage it.
Troyes vs PSG
Date, time:
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi era appears to be coming to an end. Ligue 1’s leader in goal contributions will miss the next few matches as PSG try to defend their title. Messi could also miss the rest of the season as his contract won’t be renewed anyway.
The league leaders now only hold a five-point lead over Marseille after a 3-1 loss to Lorient. They do face a Troyes side almost certainly destined for relegation on Sunday as Achraf Hakimi is also suspended.
With a couple of their star players suspended and Nuno Mendes, Presnel Kimpembe and Neymar out for the season, the Ligue 1 Matchday 34 Odds still price PSG as 1.5-goal favorites.
The Parisians display -120 odds to cover as Kylian Mbappe should play a starring role here. Mbappe is Ligue 1’s leading scorer, with 23 goals, and needs to shoulder even more of the attacking load now.
Hugo Ekitike and Vitinha could certainly get more time now that Messi is out but neither are prolific scorers.
Even playing shorthanded on the road, PSG sit at -305 odds to win the match. That’s because Troyes have been dreadful in 2023. Since winning their first match of the new year, they’re winless in their last 16 Ligue 1 matches and lost 1-0 to Nice on Matchday 33. Troyes +1.5 is priced at -110 odds here, while the hosts come in at just +700 odds to win the match.
Troyes haven’t managed to defeat PSG since 2001 but did pick up a draw at the Parc des Princes last season. A deadlock stands at +475 odds and it certainly wouldn’t help PSG’s title hopes much. With so much attacking talent on the sidelines, the odds also price under 3.5 goals at -130 odds.
Follow us on Twitter
