2019-20 France Ligue 1 Season Betting Preview & Tips
The 18th edition of the French Ligue 1 starts on August 9 with a game between Monaco and Lyon. The Ligue 1 got its overture with the Super Cup encounter between champions, PSG, and French Cup winners, Rennes. PSG got their revenge for losing in the cup final and earned a 2-1 win despite being down at halftime.
Last year, PSG didn’t have problems to secure their eighth title and second consecutive after finishing the campaign with 16 points ahead of Lille. The Great Danes were the biggest surprise in 2018-19 as they ended as the vice-champions while Lon finished in the third position. These three teams will be playing in the Champions League this season. On the other hand, St Etienne, Rennes, and Strasbourg will compete in the Europa League.
FC Metz and Stade Brestois 29 were promoted from Ligue 2, while Stade Malherbe Caen and En Avant de Guingamp relegated from Ligue 1.
PSG, Lille, Lyon, and Monaco spent around £250 million on new arrivals in this transfer window thus far. However, French clubs are generally spending less money than English ones. Unlike the previous seasons, the Saints didn’t spend a lot of cash this summer. Still, they have the strongest squad, and it is no wonder they are the biggest favourites to win the third straight title.
France Ligue 1 – Winner and Top 3 Finish Betting Odds
The reigning champions PSG are the biggest favourites to win another title in France, and various bookmakers are giving just 2/17 odds on them to reclaim the title. Thomas Tuchel spent more than £70 million on reinforcements this summer. He brought defender Abdou Diallo from Borussia Dortmund and former Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye while Pablo Sarabia joined from Sevilla. The Saints also snapped Ander Herrera, who was available on a free transfer after his contract with Manchester United expired.
Giovani Lo Celso left for Real Betis, and teenage winger Moussa Diaby went to Bayer Leverkusen. Christopher Nkunku joined RB Leipzig; Grzegorz Krychowiak moved to Lokomotiv Moscow while Timothy Weah is a new Lille player. Juventus got Gianluigi Buffon and Adrien Rabiot for free while DaniAlves returned to Brazil, and will be playing for Sao Paulo. PSG might look weaker comparing this squad with the 2018-19 one, but there is no doubt they are still the best team in France and shouldn’t have problems to defend the title.
Lyon is hoping to return to the second place this time around after ending the last year in the 3rd, and their biggest rivals will be Marseille, Lille and Monaco. The Kids made around £65 of profit with sales of midfielder Tanguy Ndombélé, left-back Ferland Mendy, and captain Nabil Fekir. Ndombélé went to Tottenham Hotspur, Mendy joined Real Madrid while Fekir moved to Betis in a surprising transfer.
- Over 40 sports depending on the season
- Far ahead in the odds comparison
- Unique long-term bet
- Over 40 sports depending on the season
- Far ahead in the odds comparison
- Unique long-term bet
Lyon raided Lille to get two players as they brought defensive midfielder Thiago Mendes and left-back Youssouf Koné while centre-back Joachim Andersen came from Sampdoria. Paddy Power is giving 12/1 odds on Lyon to win the championship while SkyBet is offering highest odds on them to finish in Top 3, at 8/15.
Marseille finished the 2018-19 campaign in the 5th position and without European football, and they are eager to return if not to the Champions League than at least to the Europa League next year. Still. Their team is looking weaker than the last year as they sold Lucas Ocampos to Sevilla and Clinton N’Jie to Dinamo Moscow.
Mario Balotelli, Rolando, and Tomas Hubocan have all left the club while Aymen Abdennour returned to Valencia after spending a year on loan at Velodrome. Darío Benedetto joined from Boca Juniors while Álvaro González came on loan from Villarreal. The Olympians are 30/1 to win the French Ligue 1 with 888Sport, and they are 11/4 with the same outlet to enter Top 3.
Monaco barely survived relegation last year as they ended the campaign with only three points ahead of the 19th-placed Caen. Thierry Henry obviously wasn’t the right choice for manager and Monaco started playing better with the return of Leonardo Jardim. The Monégasques sold Youri Tielemans to Leicester City for almost £42 million and got right-winger Gelson Martins from Atletico Madrid after his successful loan spell at Stade Louis II.
They also bought goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte from Montpellier, and he will compete for the starting spot with Danijel Subasic. Monaco are 40/1 with Betfred to win the title, and they are 4/1 with SkyBet to end in Top 3.
The most pleasant surprise of the 2018-19 season, Lille, are looking to remain in Top 3, but it’s not going to be easy considering all the changes they made this summer. The Great Danes sold their best player Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal for £73 million, and also left without striker Rafael Leão who joined AC Milan for £28 million. Thiago Mendes, Youssouf Koné, and Anwar El Ghazi also moved away, and Lille made around £75 million profit so far in the summer.
Turkish attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici came from Trabzonspor. Forward Victor Osimhen joined from Charleroi. Timothy Weah left PSG to go to Lille while Benjamin André came from Rennes. Lille brought ten new players, and it’s going to take time before they develop strong chemistry. That’s why they are 40/1 with Betvictor to win the championship while Lille are 11/4 to stay in Top 3.
France Ligue 1 – Relegation Betting Odds
Newly-promoted Brest and Metz are among the most serious candidates to drop down to Ligue 2, while Dijon, Amiens, and Angers are also in the mix. Before going through the list of potential teams who could relegate to Ligue 2, let’s remind that two teams will relegate directly while the 18th-placed side is going in the relegation play-offs against the third-best team from the second tier.
Stade Brest 29 are the biggest contenders to return to the Ligue 2, and several oddsmakers are giving 1/1 odds on them to relegate. Jean-Marc Furlan has the weakest side in the league, and he’s facing a big battle to keep his team in the elite.
Dijon, who defeated RC Lens in the relegation play-offs last season to stay in Ligue 1, are right behind at 10/11 with William Hill. Given they sold some of their best players this summer, such as Valentin Rosier, Wesley Saïd, Chang-hun Kwon, and Sory Kaba, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mustards going down this time around.
Metz, who won Ligue 2 and earned promotion to Ligue 1, have slightly better chances to stay in the top flight as the odds on them are a bit higher. Various bookmakers are offering 9/4 odds on Metz to relegate, but unlike Dijon, the Maroons didn’t sell their best players. In fact, they are stronger than in 2018-19, and with several young, talented players in the squad, Metz could even end the season among top 13 teams. At the moment, they are looking better than Brest and Dijon.
The similar situation concerning reinforcements and squad is with Amiens, who brought new players in and haven’t sold key players in return. Amiens secured elite status way before the finish of the season last year. Even though they are also at 9/4 to drop to Ligue 2, it would be surprising to see the Unicorns below Brest and Dijon in the table.
The last team on this relegation list are Angers. They finished the previous campaign in the 13th position, and although it’s hard to expect them in the top half of the table this time around, Angers should comfortably end with at least ten points above the relegation zone. The bookies are giving them 9/2 odds to relegate, which is a clear sign they also don’t think Angers will go down this year.
2019-20 France Ligue 1 Betting Preview & Tip
It’s going to be a sporting miracle if PSG fail to secure their third consecutive Ligue 1 title. Therefore, the championship battle in France is not quite attractive. However, we’re likely going to see an exciting fight for the Champions League and Europa League places, and also, relegation battle, which should include at least five teams.
- Over 40 sports depending on the season
- Far ahead in the odds comparison
- Unique long-term bet
