Ligue 1: Elite Betting Advice 02/05-03/05

A change of direction this week for our French betting advisor Andy Hooper (@EuroEliteFR) as he looks towards the over/under goals markets in search of the holy grail of football betting: profit.

SC Bastia v St. Etienne @ Stade Armand Cesari (7PM KO SAT):

Bastia have turned Stade Armand Cesari into something of a fortress this season,

Although the Ligue 1 weekend kicks off on Friday night with Metz v Marseille, the first match up that’s taken my fancy is the Saturday night showdown between Bastia and St Etienne.

These two teams possess some of the best defences in the division, and with the Corsicans playing at home, goals are likely to once again be a rarity.

Games involving Under 2.5 Goals this season

• Bastia 22/34

• St. Etienne 24/34

4 of Les Verts previous 5 Ligue 1 games have featured scorelines with 2 goals or under and with a travel to the island up next, I can’t see anything other than a low scoring affair.

AS Monaco v Toulouse @ Stade Louis III (4PM KO SUN):

Goals have been rare at the Stade Louis II this season

If there’s one place you can almost be assured of a low scoring game, then it’s in Monaco. Perhaps contributing to the low average attendances at the Stade Louis II this season, Les Monegasques have only been involved in games with 2 or more goals on 3 out of 17 occasions.

Just one of Monaco’s fixtures in their last 10 home outings has resulted in over 2.5 goals, which may have been something to do with Bastia having just 9 men on the pitch! Their opponents on Sunday, Toulouse, who after a run of 3 games unbeaten have managed to haul themselves out of the relegation zone. During this run of 3 games only 4 goals have been scored and with a trip to Monaco on the horizon I would suggest not many more will be added to this total.

Toulouse manager Dominique Arribagé will be looking to continue his great record, but will know a draw would be a great result against a Monaco team that is bang in form. Putting men behind the ball is something that Monaco struggle against, and because of their impressively low scoring affairs this one should follow the trend.

• Bastia v St Etienne UNDER 2.5 GOALS
• Monaco v Toulouse UNDER 2.5 GOALS         

4 PT STAKE – Double @ 2.72 (Ladbrokes)

Ligue 1: Elite Betting Advice 25/04

Our French betting advisor Andy Hooper (@EuroEliteFR) casts his eye over the betting opportunities at the bottom end of the Ligue 1 table this weekend, where it’s all still to play for in the race to avoid relegation.

TFC top scorer Wisam Ben Yedder will be looking to continue his hot form this weekend.

The Stadium Municipal will see Toulouse and Nantes square up in what is to be a significant match in TFC’s hopes of pushing themselves away from the drop zone. 

Since parting ways with manager Alain Casanova in March and replacing him with Dominique Arribage, Le Tefece have turned their previous form on its head, going from 18th and seemingly doomed, to a position that will surely see them remain in Ligue 1 for yet another season.

Arribage has overseen 3 victories out of 4 including 2 invaluable wins at home against teams much higher than them in the Ligue 1 standings.

In fact even before their recent turn in form it has been the home form of TFC that has seen them stay in contention this year. In 16 matches they’ve won 7 and lost just 4 times, and with the southwestern club coming up against a Nantes team on a dire run of recent away performances, they’ll surely fancy themselves to find a way to win.

As mentioned above, Nantes are sitting pretty in mid table without much to play for in the remainder of the season. However, their secure place in the league is by no means down to their performances away from Le Stade de la Beaujoire. On their travels this year ‘Les Canaris’ have managed to pick up 3 points on just 4 occasions, with their most recent success coming way back in December! Worse still, in their last 7 away from home only twice have they managed to draw. Ignoring such dreadful form would be criminal in my opinion and considering the majority of the bookmakers have placed a Toulouse win at well over evens, it’s just to good to refuse.

Toulouse WIN (v Nantes) – 3.5 PT Stake @ 2.15 (Coral, William Hill, Betfred, ToteSport)