Ligue 1 Matchday 28 Odds & Picks: Lille and Lyon Clash in Champions League Race

• It’s Matchday 28 in France’s Ligue 1 with Lille vs Lyon the big game of the weekend
• The league leaders PSG travel to Strasbourg
• Get the odds and best bets from this weekend’s Ligue 1  games below

It’s Matchday 28 in Ligue 1 with the big clash of the weekend being fourth playing fifth in Lille, when Lyon visits the  Stade Pierre Mauroy. We’ll pick the three top games and look for the value bets.

Ligue 1 Matchday 28 Odds

All odds taken Mar. 5

Ligue 1 Pick 1: Lille vs Lyon

The big game of the weekend pitches fourth against fifth as the race for the UEFA Champions League places starts to hot up. Lille are currently in fourth on 46 points, but there are three teams chasing them, all locked on 40 points. Heading that trio on goal difference is Lyon.

With 11 games to go, it’s crunch time and Lille will know a win would open up a nine-point gap and all but secure European soccer for next season, whereas a Lyon win would blow the race wide open.

Lille have, in their favor, some good recent form, and five wins in their last six suggest that Christophe Galtier’s team are not going to give up fourth place without a fight. Lyon too goes into the game in good form and their three-game winning run includes a fine win over Juventus in the Champions League.

With neither side willing to contemplate defeat, it could be that caution overrides ambition and so the value here is very much with the draw.

Pick: Lille and Lyon to draw (+225)

Ligue1 Pick 2: St. Etienne vs Bordeaux

For Bordeaux, a season of mid-table mediocrity beckons – they are now ten points behind the top four and nine points clear of the drop zone – but for St. Etienne the threat of relegation remains very real. Les Verts are just two points clear of the bottom three and have taken only four points from their last 11 games.

However, St. Etienne’s manager Claude Puel has been content with his team’s performance level of late, even if results haven’t gone their way, and will take heart from the fact that Bordeaux too is on a rotten run of form – just two wins in their last 11 games. Bordeaux’s hope of a Champions League spot has long gone.

For St. Etienne, this one is almost a must-win, and it’s time for their improved performances to be turned into points. Bordeaux looks, on paper, to be the perfect opponents for this to happen so there is value in the home win as it remains in plus money.

Pick: St Etienne to win (+127)

Ligue 1 Pick 3: Nice vs Monaco

With both teams still hopeful of claiming a European place, there is a lot at stake at the Allianz Riviera on Saturday. A win for Nice would see them leapfrog Monaco, while three points for Robert Moreno’s team would enable them to open up a five-point lead over Les Aiglons.

For Nice, goals have not been particularly hard to come by and they certainly create plenty of opportunities, but manager Patrick Viera has struggled all season for the right balance between defense and attack.  A goal difference of just +2 tells the story of a team that concedes too many.

Monaco, for their part, looked set for a concerted challenge for the European places but, despite being unbeaten in their last five, have seen back-to-back draws hinder their progress. They, like Lyon, are now six points adrift of fourth-placed Lille. They can ill afford to lose this weekend.

So, I expect a tight, perhaps cagey, affair but the opportunity to leapfrog their opponents may just tilt the balance in Nice’s favor, thereby bringing the +210 for the home win into play.

Pick: Nice to win (+210)