The French Ligue 1 returns to action on Friday night with one game where Lyon host Nimes. The home side are expected to be towards the top of the league, but with just two wins from their last six games they are currently underperforming. Their current league position of 6^th doesn’t look too bad on paper, but more is expected and they will be looking to close the gap on those above them over the next few weeks. The good news for Lyon is they are just two points away from Marseille in 3^rd place, so a win here would leapfrog them and put the pressure on when they play over the weekend. That will be something they will be looking to do, but we have not seen Lyon at their best, so there has to be a question mark hanging over them right now, until we see more from them.

Prior to the international break Lyon were embarrassed against PSG, losing 5-0 to the current champions. While PSG are a fantastic team, and clearly the best team in the league, a club like Lyon should not be losing by five goals to anyone, and that will have hurt the fans. However, it does show just how much work there is to do for the club, and over the coming weeks they have to start repairing the problems they have and begin to move in the right direction.

Nimes are down in 14^th and they have only won two of their first nine games. However, they have drawn four out of their last five games to pick up some points and while ever they are picking up regular points they will remain safe of the relegation zone. They are doing a good job of picking up points but one area they will have to improve on is their goal scoring. They have not found the back of the net in their past three league games, but they did score 13 goals in six games before that, so they clearly have goal scorers in their line-up.

Hopefully for their sake the goals will come in future games for Nimes, but right now at least they are finding ways to keep games tight and pick up points, something they will be looking to do again here on Friday.

French Footballing Dominance

Not too long ago, Lyon were at the centre of French hopes domestically and they were a force in Europe. However, money pumped into both PSG and Monaco have allowed them to take over in recent years. While Monaco are a good team, there is a big gap up to PSG, who are clear favourites to win the league this season and they are already well ahead at the top of the table.

This looks as though it could be a golden period for French football, both at club and international level. PSG are dominating the domestic game, but they continue to improve in Europe and sooner rather than later they should go close to winning the Champions League. Signing Neymar brought a lot of attention to French football and instantly gave PSG a star to build their team around but we may be on the verge of seeing someone else emerge to be better than the Brazilian.

That is of course Kylian Mbappe, a player who will be vital not only for their success, but also for the success of the national team. Mbappe came to life at the World Cup this summer, and since then he has been fantastic for his club so far this season. At just 19 years old there is no doubt his best years are ahead of him, and that is certainly a scary prospect when you consider how well he is playing right now and how much influence he is having in the games he plays in.

With Mbappe in their team, the French will fancy dominating the international game and building on their recent World Cup success. He is not the only world class player they have, but he is the one that they will build around for years to come.

This could have a big knock on effect for the other top teams in France, and Lyon could be a club to capitalise from this. Players will see the French league as somewhere they want to play, and that should eventually see the standard rise to an even higher level than what it is at the minute. One of the biggest problems with French football is that there is a big difference between those at the top of the league and those at the bottom, hopefully this is something that can close over the next few years.

Lyon vs Nimes Betting Tips

The fact that Lyon are not playing too well at the moment means that this game could be a lot closer than what the bookmakers think it will be. Nimes are a tough team to play against and while they are struggling in front of goal right now, they do have the ability to keep things tight as we have seen by them drawing four of their last five games.

While Lyon are rightfully favourites to win this game, there could be some value backing Nimes on the handicap line which is what I am going to do. They have a chance of keeping this tight, and while Lyon will want to put a show on after their 5-0 defeat to PSG, they are not playing well enough to dominate Nimes in my opinion.

Nimes are priced up at 1.82 with a +2 handicap start, meaning the bet wins if they win the game, draw or lose by one goal. This seems to be a huge price covering so many different outcomes, and I am very hopeful that Nimes can keep this game very tight and not let Lyon get away from them. There is no doubt that Lyon deserve to be favourites, but the value on this game is with Nimes on the handicap for me.

Action returns to the French Ligue 1 this weekend and Nimes on the +2 handicap line looks to be one of the best bets of the entire weekend in France. With Lyon playing poorly, and Nimes showing that they are more than capable of keeping things tight against anyone in the division, there is a lot to like about this bet and it is one I am backing with confidence.

Receive exclusive betting tips and offers directly to your inbox. Receive exclusive betting tips and offers. SIGN UP