Saturday's Ligue 1 and Bundesliga predictions and free football tips

Best bets

Monaco to beat Lens
TNT Sports 3, 8pm
2pts 23-20 Hills

Freiburg to beat Stuttgart 
2.30pm
1pt 23-10 Hills

Saturday European football predictions

Lens finished 19 points better off than Monaco in Ligue 1 last season but they have made a stuttering start to the new campaign and are worth opposing when they visit the Stade Louis II.

The Blood and Gold were one of the standout teams in France last term, finishing just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain in a gripping title race.

But Lens saw two of their most important players - Lois Openda and Seko Fofana - depart over the summer and they do not look the same side this season.

Franck Haise's men have drawn one and lost two of their opening three matches in Ligue 1, having been comfortably beaten by PSG last time out to leave them hovering above the relegation zone.

Monaco have made an excellent start to the season, collecting seven points from three games to emerge as early title contenders.

Even in their 3-3 draw with Nantes last Friday they impressed, managing 27 shots, ten of which were on target.

They have scored ten goals in their three matches and will only be more potent going forwards following the signing of Folarin Balogun from Arsenal, so they look worth backing to extend their unbeaten start with a win.

Freiburg are one of five clubs to have started the Bundesliga season with two wins and they can make it three on the spin when they visit Stuttgart.

Stuttgart started the season with an emphatic 5-0 win over Bochum but were swiftly brought back to reality last Friday when they lost 5-1 to Leipzig.

That served as a reminder of where the club is at - last season they finished in the relegation playoff position with only seven wins recorded in 34 games.

Although they have drafted in plenty of talent in the transfer market, losing Wataru Endo and Konstantinos Mavrapanos in the same window will not have done them any favours, and they could be out of their depth against Freiburg.

The Black Forest club have edged Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen in their opening two games and secured Europa League football with their fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season.

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport