Paris Saint-Germain missed out on the Ligue 1 title by one point last season, but they have established a ten-point lead over their rivals after just 13 games of the 2021-22 campaign.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are expected to claim another three points at home to Nantes on Saturday, while last term’s surprise champions Lille kick off the latest round of fixtures away to Monaco on Friday.
Champions Struggle as PSG March on
Lille’s title-winning coach Christophe Galtier moved on to Nice in the summer and the 2020-21 champions have made a patchy start to the defence of their crown.
They are 51/20 to pick up a much-needed victory away to Monaco on Friday night, but the 23/20 hosts have won their last three home games in Ligue 1 by an aggregate score of 9-1, against St Etienne, Bordeaux and Montpellier.
Niko Kovac’s side should fancy their chances of a fourth straight home victory, especially as Lille took just two points from four games leading into the November international break.
Runaway leaders PSG are in action on Saturday and they are 5/9 to secure a 12th win in 14 league games at the expense of 37/4 visitors Nantes.
Kylian Mbappe, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the season, scored four times in France’s 8-0 World Cup qualifying rout of Kazakhstan last weekend and he is 11/4 to be the first goalscorer against the Canaries.
Impressive Lens Focus on Trip to Brest
Only star-studded PSG are above Lens in the table at the start of the latest round of Ligue 1 fixtures and the surprise packages could be worth supporting at 5/4 away to Brest on Sunday.
Lens returned to the top flight of French football last season and have kicked on well under coach Franck Haise, with skipper Seko Fofana starring in midfield and Polish winger Przemyslaw Frankowski scoring four times in his first ten league starts for the club.
Frankowski is 5/2 to add to his tally at 43/20 shots Brest, who have won their last two games after starting the season with an 11-match winless streak.
However, their renaissance could be cut short by a confident Lens side who have already enjoyed away victories at Marseille, Monaco and Bordeaux this term.
Hometown Heroes Lyon Can Stand Firm
Two of the biggest clubs in France, Lyon and Marseille, go head to head on Sunday evening and Lyon’s home record makes them worthy favourites at 10/11.
They were beaten 4-1 at Rennes in their last game before the international break, but should be confident of bouncing back on their own patch, where they have won six of their last seven matches and scored at least twice in seven of their last eight.
In contrast, Marseille, 53/20 to silence the home fans, have been struggling to find a cutting edge in front of goal.
Five of their last 11 matches in Ligue 1 and the Europa League have ended 0-0 and their only wins in their last eight league games came against bottom-half sides Lorient and Clermont.
Marseille have drawn five of their last six matches in all competitions and another stalemate is 59/20.
However, Lyon average 2.14 goals per game at home in the league and a 2-0 home win is worth considering at 33/4 in the correct score market.
*All odds correct at time of writing
