Relegation candidates Strasbourg, who will be keen to forget a 4:0 loss in their previous game, will play Lille, who will be riding high from an excellent 3:0 win over Nantes. In the other game Dijon, who lost expectedly to an impressive Marseille side, will play the reigning champions Monaco, who suffered from a nervy start against Toulouse in Ligue 1 opening game.
Strasbourg vs. Lille
3-Way: 1: Strasbourg +288; X: +250 Draw; 2: Lille +120
Spread +0.5: Strasbourg -120; Lille +112
Total +2.5: Over +125; Under -125
Strasbourg
The 2016-17 Ligue 2 champions Strasbourg made a terrible start in their 2017-18 Ligue 1 campaign as they came out as clear losers 4:0 against a Lyon side in scintillating form, which also signified their first loss since March 6th 2017.
Throughout the game Strasbourg’s defense seemingly gave the game away as they were guilty of some awful mistakes, including a poor challenge in the box to give away a penalty and defensive mix-up as one defender struck the ball against another defender to let an opposition striker, Mariano Diaz, through on goal.
However, Le Racing weren’t without chances of their own as they managed 6 shots on target over the course of the game, more than Lyon’s four, but ultimately the away side fell victim to top performances for Mariano Diaz and Nabil Fekir. The heavy score-line is also not surprising considering that Strasbourg conceded 47 goals last season in Ligue 2, the 11th best record in the league, and if it’s average for Ligue 2 you can be certain that it’s pretty poor for France’s top flight.
Strasbourg’s most recent transfer was defensive midfielder Mayoro N’Doye, who left for Tours FC for an unknown fee. There have been no notable transfers recently, but surely after the 4:0 loss they will be looking at bringing another name or two in.
Manager Thierry Laureywill be with afull squad roster for Sunday’s game.
Lille
Lille took their first steps towards improvement on last year’s 11th place in the Ligue 1 finish following a valuable 3:0 win against Nantes. After a slow first half the Les Dogues came racing out of the blocks in the second, with Junior Alonso scoring a fine low-strike from outside the box in the 48th minute. Nicolas de Préville added a second by means of a penalty, then shortly after Anwar El Ghazi added a third after a slick passing move.
New Manager Marcelo Bielsa will be delighted with what he has seen from his team so far, following a faultless performance against a decent side in Nantes and a positive pre-season. A clean sheet will have also been encouraging, especially when you consider that arguably their best centre-back, Adama Soumaoro, was missing through injury.
Marcelo Bielsa will have a full squad selection for Sunday’s game, except for the aforementioned Adama Soumaoro who will still be out through an Achilles tendon rupture.
Strasbourg vs. Lille – MATCH PREDICTION
In the first round of Ligue 1, Strasbourg were hopeless in defense and toothless upfront, while Lille looked the complete opposite. Despite a home advantage, and Lille being slightly worse than Lyon, I can’t see anything but a Lille win, unless Strasbourg park-the-bus in front of their own goal and have a lot of luck.
Expect a Lille win and by at least 2 goals.
MY PICK: Lille AH +0.5 (+112)
Dijon vs. Monaco
3-Way: 1: Dijon +610; X: +340 Draw; 2: M0naco -167
Spread +1: Dijon +106; Monaco -104
Total +3: Over +112; Under -120
Dijon
The Mustards will be keen to move on from a 3:0 loss that was probably in line with expectations against a superior Marseille side. Dijon managed to keep the score down to 0:0 in the first half, and were even unlucky not to go ahead after a couple of decent chances. However, as Dijon legs grew tired their opponents grew into the game, scoring thrice in the second half.
One may look towards Dijon’s losses of key players such as Lois Diony or Pierre Lees Melou for their poor performance, or the fact that 5 new players started against Marseille and may take time to settle. With these factors and the result in mind, manager Olivier Dall’Oglio will be keen to move on from their loss and see it as a game they were never likely to pick up points against anyway; although using this logic he may have to look beyond their next game too.
Dijon has had one notable departure recently with Jérémie Bela leaving for Albacete on a free transfer.
Olivier Dall’Oglio will have a full squad selection for Saturday’s game.
Monaco
A nervous start for Monaco’s Ligue 1 title-defense in the opening game against Toulouse saw them go behind twice to win 3:2 in an exciting game. Toulouse opened the scoring after just 6 minutes with Monaco replying through Jemerson as he headed from a stunning cross by Joao Moutinho.
Monaco ended up chasing the game again as Toulouse regained their lead through Andy Delort after the ball was fired in from the edge of area. Within 5 minutes Radamel Falcao equalized with a header from a cross and Glik scored a third headed goal for the winner in the 70th minute.
Despite the close score-line, Monaco were dominant throughout the game, displayed through their 63% possession and ten shots to Toulouse’s two. Manager Leanardo Jardim will look towards the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Thomas Lemar who, although at times looked bright, weren’t firing on all cylinders perhaps through a lack of match practice. Perhaps in the next game Jardim will look to introduce new players like Youri Tielemans earlier than the 87th minute, as he did in the last game, to help re-energize the team.
In the last few days Monaco have made two additions in winger Rachid Ghezzal on a free transfer from Olympique Lyon and centre-forward Adama Diakhaby from Rennes for 10 million Euros. Meanwhile winger Allan Saint-Maximin left for OGC Nice in another 10 million Euro deal. According to the most recent rumors, Monaco supposedly accepted the 180 million Euros offer from PSG for the 18-year old Kylian Mbappé, but the rumor was quickly denied by both teams stating that nothing is official yet. It will be interesting to see if Monaco manages to hold onto this young talent for another Ligue 1 campaign.
Leonardo Jardimwill be without Gabriel Boschilia (Cruciate Ligament Rupture), Loic Badiashile (Shoulder), Adama Traoré (Knee), Jordi Mboula (Muscular problems) and Kévin N’Doram (Shoulder) through injury.
Dijon vs. Monaco – MATCH PREDICTION
Despite a shaky start Monaco will still be the favorites to win on Sunday. Considering that the team seemed a little out of sync and still put three goals past their opponents, they will be a force to be reckoned with after a little more time; perhaps an extra game and a week has done the trick.
Add to that that Dijon’s defense is weaker than Bordeaux’s, conceding 58 times last season and you have overwhelming evidence for a Monaco win. Saying that the last two league fixtures between these sides have resulted in a 2:1 win for Monaco and a 1:1 draw, so the game may pan out a little closer than you expect.
Although I would recommend going for a Monaco win considering recent form and Monaco’s overall strength, the -167 offered for the Monaco win is just too high to place a bet on, so I will go for a high scoring game and both teams to score.
MY PICK: Over 3 goals (+112)
Additional Pick: Both teams to score YES (-130)
