Following an exciting round of Ligue 1 fixtures, and then the international break, teams will come back refreshed and raring to go in their plight for domestic success.
In today’s matchup, we first take a look at a match between unbeaten Ligue 1 sides PSG and Bordeaux, with PSG the likelier winners but may be lacking their confident edge after their 0:0 draw with Montpellier. In our other game, two struggling sides in Amiens and Lille will battle out, both looking for a big three points to respond to a defeat in their respective most recent defeats.
Paris SG vs. Bordeaux
3-Way: 1: Paris SG -417; X: +1000 Draw; 2: Bordeaux +2160
Spread -2.5: Paris SG +116; Bordeaux -122
Total +3.5: Over -110; Under +106
Paris SG
Les Parisiens suffered their first winless Ligue 1 match with a 0:0 draw away against Montpellier in Neymar’s absence. PSG’s lack of creativity without their star Brazilian was apparent against a rigid five-man Montpellier defense, but they did have a few great chances to score, with most falling to French wonder-kid Kylian Mbappé. Firstly, Mbappé cut in with swift dribbling and cannoned the ball towards goal, but it was carried away. Later, a poor back pass let Edinson Cavani snatch the ball and start a quick-moving letting Mbappé attempt to curl it around the keeper, but couldn’t find the right finish and may have done better to pass back to Cavani across the goal. A third big chance came after a stunning looping ball from Marco Verratti found Mbappé again, who controlled but couldn’t find his feet quick enough to get off a shot before he was challenged by a Montpellier defender. A late penalty shout was the last piece of PSG goalmouth action in a very mild performance by their high standards.
After the previous weekend’s penalty debacle involving Neymar and Cavani, dropped points would have been exactly the thing that manager Unai Emery would have hoped to avoid. Further to this, there has been more paper talk about the deterioration of Neymar and Cavani’s off-field and on-field relationship after Neymar tried to take penalty duties off of Cavani in their match against Lyon. Additionally, in the incredible news it has been reported that Cavani has been offered a 1 million bonus from the PSG owner to sacrifice his penalties to Neymar, which to be honest is quite believable. Add to that that Neymar was left out of their last fixture with a “foot injury”, but seems available for their next fixture.
All of the circus-like goings on within the PSG camp can only be a negative, add to that that they dropped their first points arguably as a result of issues and you might think that Unai Emery has a big job on his hands to rally his troops for a tough match against a strong Bordeaux side this Saturday. The Montpellier result could just be a pure coincidence however, and you would still think that they have the quality to get the desired result.
Unai Emery will have a full squad selection for Saturday’s game other than winger Angel Di Maria who is out with a hamstring injury.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux continued their unbeaten run with a convincing 3:1 victory over Guingamp in front of their home crowd. Despite the score, things may have been different had Guingamp scored a third-minute penalty after Jeremy Toulalan recklessly dived in on a Guingamp attacker, but the resulting spot-kick was terribly taken. It was then Bordeaux’s turn to shoot from the spot after winger Francois Kamano was taken down in the box. Nicolas de Préville stepped up with another awful penalty which was saved, but luckily Kamano was on hand to finish the rebound to make it 1:0.
Guingamp responded in the first minute of the second half but Bordeaux regained their lead late on with a lovely pass from star player Malcom into forward Alexandre Mendy who finished well. Jonathan Cafu then put the game to bed in the 92nd minute as he took it round it keeper and slid the ball home to end the match with a strong 3:1 victory.
The win now means that Bordeaux moved to the third position, just four points off of Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain, their next opponents, and have maintained their unbeaten run, although they’d do well to remain unbeaten in their next fixture. Another positive is once again Brazilian starlet Malcom’s performances, who’s assist meant that he has now had a hand in seven of Bordeaux’s thirteen goals this season.
Manager Jocelyn Gourvennec will be without any injury or suspension woes.
Paris SG vs. Bordeaux- MATCH PREDICTION
With the two only unbeaten Ligue 1 sides coming head to head, this match will probably be the most competitive fixture of the weekend. On any normal day PSG should be the team that comes out on top with the sheer quality that they have throughout their squad, but with what has been going on behind the scenes, sometimes spilling onto the scenes, this is one of those rare times where Paris SG may be prone to the odd slip-up, like last week, especially against a side like Bordeaux who is in a rich vein of form. This is also a great opportunity for Malcom to announce himself on a larger stage.
Overall, although I think a PSG win is likelier, you’ll get better odds on picking the under.
MY PICK: Under 3.5 goals (+106)
Amiens vs. Lille
3-Way: 1: Amiens +206; X: +220 Draw; 2: Lille +177
Spread 0: Amiens +112; Lille -111
Total +2: Over -130; Under +127
Amiens
Newly promoted Amiens slumped to a second defeat away to Caen 1:0 as they failed to gain a foothold in the game over the ninety minutes. In fact, Amiens didn’t have a single shot on goal and were deserved losers on the day. The only goal of the game came through an extremely harsh penalty, given after Oualid El Hajjam was deemed to be over aggressive when going shoulder to shoulder with a Caen attacker. To be honest, El Hajjam had a day to forget, also with the best Amiens chance of the game falling to him in the box but he failed to connect as the ball flew past him.
It was a terrible performance from Amiens, and they will be particularly disappointed that they couldn’t compete with a side that will likely be involved in the Ligue 1 relegation scrap with them come to the end of the season. Further embarrassment would, of course, have been that they failed to threaten Caen’s goal once throughout the game in what was probably the most comfortable 1:0 win you will ever see.
Manager Christophe Pélissier will have a full squad roster for Saturday’s game.
Lille
Lille succumbed to another loss and their sixth game in a row without a win after an embarrassing 4:0 home loss to Monaco. Although Lille had more shots overall than their opponents, they failed to create too many clear-cut chances while Monaco was clinical in front of goal for each of their four. Substitute Ezequiel Martinez came closest for Lille but was fantastically denied after the Monaco threw his body at the striker to stop the home side from scoring a consolation goal.
Fans of Lille must be starting to feel that supporting their side is more of a chore than a hobby after one bad result after another. One damning stat for Lille is that the loss meant it is their worst start to the league for twenty years. Surely manager Marcelo Bielsa is under serious pressure to get a result in their next Ligue 1 fixture.
Marcelo Bielsa will have a full squad selection for his side’s upcoming match.
Amiens vs. Lille – MATCH PREDICTION
Both sides are in awful form, but luckily for Amiens and Lille, they’re each coming up against a side that is as bad as each other. This will only crank up the pressure as a loss for either side could be fatal for their season. Therefore, I believe that both sides will focus on not losing rather than going for the win, so a low-scoring draw is likely.
MY PICK: Draw (+220)
