Early Bird Tips for Ligue 1: Goals to flow in France again this weekend

Heading into Ligue 1 round four, here are your best Early Bird tips for Ligue 1 brought to you by Steve Wyss. Goals have been on the high side in France’s top flight so far, so sticking with that trend might be advisable.

Meanwhile, find out why betting against rock-bottom Clermont makes a ton of sense, with the cellar dwellers still stuck on zero points.

• Early Bird Monaco vs Lens: Over 3.0 Asian Goal Line
• Early Bird Toulouse vs Clermont: Toulouse to Win
• Early Bird Lille vs Montpellier: Over 3.0 Asian Goal Line

Acca odds: 7.73

Odds via bet365 as at 10:48 BST Monday 28th August. Odds may now differ.

Monaco vs Lens: Goals to keep flowing in the principality

France, Ligue 1, Saturday 2nd September, 20:00 (UK)

This fixture has a long history of goals, and Lens went to the south coast and smashed Monaco 4-1 last season. The visitors are still searching for their first victory of the current campaign and have endured a difficult fixture list with the likes of Rennes, PSG and now Monaco to negotiate in the early stages. Lens put up a decent fight away to PSG last weekend but still came out second best and eventually lost 1-3. Their defence has been much leakier this season, with no clean sheet and seven goals conceded in their first three fixtures.

Monaco came from 0-2 and 1-3 down to draw 3-3 vs Nantes in the previous round. Their own attack has been firing quite well, with Minamino and an under-the-spotlight Wissam Ben Yedder all contributing strongly. This is a big season for Monaco, and they desperately need to finish in the top four and get back into Champions League qualification. Their own backline can be vulnerable, and although they won to nil vs Strasbourg in their only previous home match to date, this will be a much tougher test facing a Lens side who are well built to counter-attack on the break.

The visitors are underrated with the bookies in this clash and can be backed as big as 3.25. I think taking Over 3.0 Asian goals represents the best bet for this Early Bird Tips for Ligue 1 Acca, though. Both teams are offensive-minded, and there are some doubts at the back. This bet should result in a push at worst.

• Selection: Over 3.0 Asian Goal Line
• Best Odds: 2.04
• Bookmaker: bet365

Toulouse vs Clermont: Violets to keep rock bottom Clermont pointless

France, Ligue 1, Sunday 3rd September, 12:00 (UK)

For the last two seasons, Clermont have been one of the big favourites to get relegated but have constantly overachieved under the guidance of manager Pascal Gastien. They have lost their first three fixtures this campaign, and there is a feeling that their low budget and overall lack of quality and depth could finally be too much to overhaul. Losing to Monaco and Reims was no disaster, but the home defeat 0-1 vs newly promoted Metz last week was extremely worrying.

Clermont huffed and puffed and got into some good positions but failed to really create many serious chances, racking up an xG of just 0.54. It was Metz who finished the game strongest and managed to beat them 1-0 to claim a deserved victory. Clermont have one of the worst overall xGA in the entire league (6.41), and this defence is realistic of Ligue 2 quality.

Toulouse lost both fixtures vs Clermont last season and failed even to score a goal against them. This feels like an ideal chance to gain revenge to keep the visitors rock bottom of the table on zero points, though. Toulouse have had a mixed start to the season but proved during their 1-1 draw at home to PSG that they have a decent fight in them. After a disappointing defeat 0-2 to Strasbourg last week, they’ll be eager to bounce back, and they have the extra attacking quality in their ranks to make the difference.

The odds offering of 1.88 looks perfectly acceptable on the home team here. I’d have this price closer to 1.65.

• Selection: Toulouse to win
• Best Odds: 1.88
• Bookmaker: Unibet

Lille vs Montpellier: Unreliable defences should lead to goals in northern France

France, Ligue 1, Sunday 3rd September, 14:00 (UK)

Both sides suffered defeat last week and will be eager to bounce back with a win. The main issue for each team in the previous round was conceding goals, with Lille especially shocking during a 1-4 loss away to Lorient. Les Dogues reminded us that they can often leave themselves very exposed if they are chasing a game, and Lorient rinsed them on the counter-attack. This match comes just three days after a trip to Croatia, where LOSC have been playing against Rijeka in the UEFA Conference League. There could be some tired legs for Montpellier to expose, and they look like a good underdog here.

The visitors lost 1-3 at home to Reims, although they conceded two absolute bangers from Teddy Teuma, which were unsavable. They will feel a little bit unfortunate, but in a similar way to Lille, they showed naivety when chasing the game and left themselves far too open. After three rounds, Montpellier fixtures average 4.3 goals per game, and all of their games have been Over 2.5 Goals and BTTS. This cannot continue forever but demonstrates the sort of blueprint team they are right now with a strong attack but unreliable defence.

Both of these sides have some potent weapons going forward, with Jonathan David & Akor Adams standing out in particular. There should be at least three goals scored here, so taking the Asian goal line over 3.0 looks relatively safe.

• Selection: Over 3.0 Asian Goal Line
• Best Odds: 2.04
• Bookmaker: bet365

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