Early Bird Tips for Ligue 1: Monaco To Maintain Hot Start As Lyon Problems Continue

The international break is over, so here is a look ahead to the weekend card in France with your early bird tips for Ligue 1. Monaco have been a pleasant surprise so far this season, scoring goals for fun.

They travel to Lorient, aiming to keep up their scoring spree. Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Clermont and Lyon are both looking for their first victories. Lyon have just sacked Laurent Blanc, but will it make any difference?

• Early Bird Lorient vs Monaco: Over 3 Asian Goals
• Early Bird Clermont vs Nantes: Over 1.5 Clermont Goals
• Early Bird Lyon vs Le Havre: Le Havre +0.75 Asian Handicap

Acca odds: 7.87

Odds via bet365 as at 08:18 Tuesday 12th September. Odds may now differ.

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Lorient vs Monaco: Goals on the agenda at Le Stade Moustoir

France, Ligue 1, Sunday 17th September, 12:00 (UK)

Lorient have wavered with inconsistency to start the season. Two good draws vs PSG and Nice were followed up by a shock 4-1 victory vs Lille at home, in which they were extremely impressive. However, nobody expected them to go and lose 0-3 away to newly promoted Le Havre. It was an extremely disappointing result, and they can have no excuses because they got outplayed both statistically and on the eye. Les Merlus were outshot 17 to 9, and their defensive numbers are worth watching out for. Despite only conceding five total goals, their xGA is closer to the seven mark.

The style that Monaco employs could make Lorient more dangerous here. The expectation is for the visitors to win, and they might leave themselves open and exposed. Lorient are strong on the counter-attack as Lille found out to their peril. A lot of things point towards goals here, first because Monaco have been on absolute fire in the final third. Les Monagasques have netted at least three goals in all of their fixtures so far, with the likes of Ben Yedder and Minamino especially in great form. However, Monaco has conceded five goals in their two road fixtures, and clearly, the defence can’t be relied upon.

Monaco is best priced at 1.80 to win here, but that looks short when considering the threat that Lorient poses. A better option looks to be in the Asian goals market, where over 3.0 can be backed at odds-against. Both teams can contribute towards an entertaining match which could rock and forth in either direction.

• Selection: Over 3 Asian Goals
• Best Odds: 2.04
• Bookmaker: bet365

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Clermont vs Nantes: Home team to finally get their season started

France, Ligue 1, Sunday 17th September, 14:00 (UK)

Clermont finally got something on the board when they scored a late equalizer away to Toulouse in their most recent match. They fell behind early 0-2 but did well to come back for a deserved draw. For the last 65 minutes of that match, they were easily the stronger side and outgunned Toulouse 1.40 to 0.64 on xG.

Pascal Gastien’s men will now look to get their first victory of the season, and a home fixture against Nantes is very manageable. Scoring that late goal should give them a newfound confidence and belief, giving them a chance to kick on. Whether or not you trust Clermont to win at 1.95 is a different matter entirely, though. Their defence has looked poor and conceded nine goals in the first four games.

Nantes have also had a very porous defence and yet to keep a clean sheet. The only time they looked in any way secure was vs Marseille just before the international break, when they defended doggedly with ten men for almost the entirety of the match. The game situation forced them to operate with different tactics, and they actually looked better for it. I suspect Nantes will have to be more proactive here, though, in what is perceived to be quite a winnable fixture. Nantes have only had one away game thus far, which resulted in a 0-2 loss to Lille. They have by far the worst xGA of any team (13.04), which points me in the direction of Clermont team total goals.

At odds of 2.05, backing the home team to score over 1.5 goals looks like a good option. They managed it against Toulouse last time out and should be able to create several chances versus this Nantes backline. They are not trustworthy enough to win, but Clermint can net at least a couple of goals in this fixture.

• Selection: Clermont Foot Over 1.5 Goals
• Best Odds: 2.05
• Bookmaker: William Hill

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Lyon vs Le Havre: Newly promoted Le Havre to add to Lyon misery

France, Ligue 1, Sunday 17th September, 19:45 (UK)

Lyon continues to be in crisis. On the field, they have lost three of their opening four games and obtained just a solitary point. Just before the international break, they got battered at home 1-4 by PSG and the margin of defeat probably should’ve been more. The players were subjected to a public dressing-down humiliation by their own fans after that loss, and the general feeling around the club was doom and gloom.

Les Gones have now sacked manager Laurent Blanc, and at the time of writing, we don’t know who the new boss will be. Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter was linked with the position but reportedly turned it down.

Lyon are odds-on favourites around the 1.70 mark to beat newly promoted Le Havre, but they couldn’t be backed with monopoly money right now. A change of manager might help things, but the problems at Lyon cut deeper than that. Off the field, there are issues with ownership, finances and transfer strategy. Le Havre will be bang up for this game and have drawn both of their away fixtures 2-2 against Montpellier and Rennes.

After surprisingly beating Lorient 3-0 just before the international break, so they should be pretty confident. Le Havre on a +0.75 Asian Handicap looks like a good bet. They should, at worst, keep this close, and were they to lose, then a one-goal margin is most probable. There is every chance the visitors can win or draw this game, though.

• Selection: Le Havre +0.75 Asian Handicap
• Best Odds: 1.93
• Bookmaker: bet365

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