A close battle is brewing for the top four positions in France. Many of the main contenders are currently showing strong attacking form.
| Ligue 1 goals markets | Odds |
|---|---|
| Angers vs Metz - Over 3.5 | 3.50 |
| Nice vs Brest - Over 2.5 | 1.75 |
| Paris FC vs Marseille - Over 2.5 | 1.73 |
| Lyon vs Lille - Over 2.5 home goals | 3.40 |
Odds courtesy of 1xBet. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
Ligue 1 teams currently firing in the final third
With an average of 2.88 goals per game, Ligue 1 is the second-highest scoring league among Europe’s big five. Many clubs were hit by major summer departures which did damage to their forward lines. However, most appear to have now rectified those issues.
A good example is Lyon, who lost the key attacking duo of Georges Mikautadze and Rayan Cherki in the summer. They’ve only scored once in six of their opening seven matches this term.
Paulo Fonseca has gradually rebuilt his attack. His team have hit form of late, with 10 wins out of 11 in all competitions.
January’s loan signing of Endrick from Real Madrid has contributed to that. The Brazilian has made a stunning start to life in France and netted a hat-trick last weekend against Metz.
Surprisingly, the top scorers in Ligue 1 this season are not star-studded PSG, but Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille. Les Olympiens average 2.32 goals per game.
Mason Greenwood leads the league with 12 goals. Like Lyon, they too have been boosted by an exciting January loan addition. 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri scored on his debut against Lens on Saturday, following his move from Arsenal.
That was a big victory for De Zerbi’s men against the team that have emerged as PSG’s most likely title challengers. Lens have excelled this term, with Wesley Said, Odsonne Edouard and Florian Thauvin forming a dangerous attacking trio. Their xG tally of 41.01 is comfortably the best in the division.
Which games are worth backing to produce goals on Matchday 20?
Marseille and Lyon are both set to get back on the goal trail this coming weekend. They are the teams most likely to join the current top two in qualifying for the Champions League.
Lyon entertain injury-ravaged Lille in a key battle in that race. Matches involving the visitors have produced 3.32 goals per game in total, the third-highest figure in Ligue 1. However, Lille have struggled to find the net in recent weeks.
Les Dogues lost 4-1 to Strasbourg last Sunday, and they have conceded 12 times in their last four league matches alone. With Endrick firing, backing Lyon to score over 2.5 goals appears to offer great value at the Groupama Stadium.
The smart move when Marseille visit Paris FC on Saturday could be to back over 2.5 goals in total. There have been 3.37 goals per 90 minutes in the away team’s Ligue 1 matches. Meanwhile, 58% of Paris FC encounters have served up at least three.
Further down the table, there are several other teams that are also scoring and conceding plenty. One of those is Nice, whose last six matches in all competitions have all featured goals at both ends.
This weekend, they take on an attack-minded Brest side. While they’re in the bottom half, Eric Roy’s team average 1.46 xG per 90 minutes, the ninth-best record. Backing over 2.5 goals looks appealing, with an implied probability of 57.9%.
For bigger potential returns, going with over 3.5 goals when Angers host Metz also appears to offer value. The visitors have the worst defensive record in Ligue 1, averaging 2.37 goals against per game. 60% of their away fixtures have ended with four or more goals.