Ligue 1 back to normal as PSG dominate French title race

Monaco provided one of the betting shocks of the 2016-17 season when they claimed the Ligue 1 title but normal service has resumed with ante-post favourites Paris St-Germain already well clear of the chasing Championnat pack.

The champions’ title defence has failed to materialise and that is no surprise considering the amount of key players who have departed Stade Louis II over the summer including Kylian Mbappe, who left for Paris to join Neymar and Edinson Cavani in PSG’s phenomenal front three.

There was supposed friction between Neymar and Cavani after the Brazilian arrived to much fanfare but that hasn’t stopped the Uruguayan from scoring 18 goals in the league in addition to six in Europe. But Neymar is the beating heart of the side, as he demonstrated against Rennes on Saturday by scoring twice and bagging two assists in a 4-1 victory.

Monaco are nine points adrift of top spot and they’re joined by Lyon on 38 points with Marseille three behind them and it’s likely that those three will fight it out for second place with bet365 making Monaco even-money shots in their without PSG market.

Manager Leonardo Jardim has had to cope with injury problems and a failing European campaign but, with Monaco now out of the Champions League, they should push on for second with Lyon and Marseille both involved in the Europa League knockout stages.

Lyon in particular could struggle to last the distance if Nabil Fekir leaves the club in January with Arsenal and Manchester United both rumoured to be interested.

At the other end of the table Metz look almost certain to go down which leaves one automatic relegation place and one relegation playoff place to be decided. Angers are in danger of joining them but there are plenty of teams who could get dragged into a dogfight.

The Marcelo Bielsa experiment has bombed spectacularly at Lille but they should be strong enough to survive and the likes of Toulouse and Troyes could find themselves in trouble. Amiens, recommended to go down at the start of the season, are 13th but continually defy some poor shot stats and they must still be vulnerable.

Already advised by Joe Champion
Nice top-three finish
2pts 10-3 Betway
Lille top-three finish
1pt 8-1 Betway
Amiens to be relegated
3pts Evs Betfred

Ligue 1 standings

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter@racingpostsport

Like us on FacebookRacingPostSport