The international break is a perfect time to take stock and look at the outright markets. Here, we analyse the current state of play in the top flight of French football and ask who will win Ligue 1.
Paris Saint-Germain – 1/6
It’s no surprise to see PSG such heavy odds-on favourites, having won five of the last six league titles in France but their start to the season has been anything but perfect.
Not only has their domestic form been iffy, drawing three matches and losing against Nice in their opening eight games, but they endured a major embarrassment in the Champions League, being demolished 4-1 by Newcastle United.
However, despite all that, they are sat in third in the league and have actually shortened from their pre-season price of 1/4 into 1/6 to win a third-straight title.
With the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in their ranks, you’d be hard pressed to be backing against Luis Enrique’s men.
Monaco – 10/1
The current league leaders and 2016/17 champions, AS Monaco have returned to their former glories since the purchase of the club by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.
New head coach Adi Hütter was appointed in the summer, after a disappointing sixth-placed finish saw the Red and Whites failing to qualify for European competition and the end of Philippe Clement’s tenure.
Hütter has hit the ground running and has the Monegasque club playing some expansive football, scoring a league-leading 21 goals in their opening eight games.
Much will be decided by the two clashes with PSG, the first of which is at the back-end of November. If they can win that one, their odds will tumble.
Marseille – 12/1
Olympique Marseille are another side who have had a dubious start to the season, losing both their high profile games against PSG and Monaco in recent weeks.
That 4-0 demolition in Paris saw the end of the much-maligned Marcelino’s reign and the appointment of ex-Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso.
The Italian managed to pick up their first win since August, last time out against Le Havre and the international break will give the 45-year-old more time to get his feet under the table and establish his philosophies.
I wouldn’t be going anywhere near them at 12/1, however.
Nice – 16/1
The last side with a realistic chance according to the betting, is the team that provided PSG with their only loss thus far, OGC Nice.
Francesco Farioli’s outfit remain the only unbeaten side in Ligue 1, with four wins and four draws to date.
In a stark contrast to Monaco, Farioli has built his success on a mean defence and a tight compact style, scoring just nine goals and conceding a miserly four.
With his side so hard to break down, they will continue to be extremely hard to beat but the lack of goals could come back to hurt them and mean more draws on the cards.
Outsiders
If you are after a real long-shot, you could do worse than having a few bob on Brest at 200/1. They sit fourth in the table, after an impressive start to the season.
