Friday offers a very interesting betting lineup, and among a sea of intriguing matches, this time we have analyzed the premier duel of the 28th round of the French Ligue 1, where Lille’s footballers will host Marseille at their stadium. The start of the match between these two teams is scheduled for 9 pm.
Lille: Can the former French champions secure a place in the Champions League?
We all remember 2021, when Lille’s team broke PSG’s years-long dominance and clinched the French championship title, which was certainly a huge surprise. Besides, the popular Dogues have won the championship title in France three other times in their history, but the latest one surely holds a special charm, as it’s not often that Parisians, since becoming one of the richest clubs in the world, don’t finish in first place. Last season was satisfactory, as the team ended up in fifth place in the league, earning them a spot in the third-tier European club competition. There, the French representative reached the top of their group and secured direct qualification to the round of 16, where the Dogues eliminated Sturm and reached the quarterfinals against Aston Villa, which, without exaggerating, might be considered one of the main favorites to win this year’s Conference League, especially since Unai Emery, who knows how to win European trophies, is at the helm.
As for this year’s French Ligue 1 edition, currently, Paulo Fonseca’s men are in fourth place with a three-point lead over fifth-placed Nice, and it’s worth mentioning that this season, that fourth spot ultimately leads to a place in the Champions League qualifiers. In their last five league matches, the Dogues have achieved two victories, as many draws, and only one loss, which was away at Toulouse. In the last round, Fonseca’s men achieved a very important triumph, winning at home against Lens, a direct competitor for the fourth position, with a 2:1 score. Before that, the former French champions drew away at Brest, with a 1:1 score, which is certainly not a bad result, as the mentioned team is currently in second place in the league and is considered the most pleasant surprise of this year’s Ligue 1 edition.
Additionally, it’s important to note that Lille is the best home team in France’s top football division, having achieved nine victories, three draws, and only one defeat in thirteen home matches played.
Marseille: The Velodrome team seeks to break out of crisis in the toughest away game in Ligue 1!
The Velodrome team has won the French championship title nine times in its history, last achieving this feat in 2010. Additionally, this team has won the French Cup ten times and the Super Cup three times. However, their greatest success came in 1993 when they became European champions, defeating AC Milan in the final. Interestingly, this team also reached the Champions League final in 1991, where Red Star Belgrade won the trophy after a penalty shootout.
Moreover, the French representative has reached the Europa League final three times, losing on all occasions, with the most recent being in 2018 when they were defeated 3-0 by Atletico Madrid. Last season, Marseille finished third in the league, earning them a place in the Champions League qualifiers, where they were unexpectedly eliminated by Greece’s Panathinaikos in the third round. This meant the Velodrome team missed out on their primary goal of participating in the Champions League as early as August.
They had to settle for the Europa League, where they have been performing quite well. Marseille managed to reach the quarterfinals after getting past a tough Villarreal side and will face Benfica in the next round, scheduled for the following Thursday.
Realistically, we expected more from Marseille this season, as the former French champions are currently in seventh place, three points behind sixth-placed Lens, with the sixth spot being the last to qualify for European competition. After a series of great results, the Velodrome team suffered two consecutive losses – first away at Rennes with a 2-0 score, followed by one of the biggest derbies in French football, where they lost 0-2 at home to PSG in the last round, despite PSG playing with ten men for a significant part of the match.
Following two consecutive defeats, a victory seems imperative, but it won’t be an easy task against Lille, who we’ve already mentioned as the best home team in Ligue 1 this season. Lastly, Marseille has played thirteen away matches so far, not faring very well with only two wins, four draws, and seven losses.
Our Betting Suggestions
We’ve already mentioned that Lille plays fantastically at home, and we truly believe that this will play a significant role in this duel, especially since Marseille has not been impressive away. Therefore, we highly recommend trying a bet on a home win, for which the bookmaker 22Bet has prepared odds of 2.13.
Although the stake is not small, there’s a good chance this match will bring plenty of goals, so we suggest focusing on the Total Over 2.5 Goals market, which 22Bet offers at odds of 2.05.
Finally, it’s rare for Lille not to score two or more goals at their stadium, regardless of the opponent, so an ideal prediction for the premier duel of the 28th round of Ligue 1 might be Individual Total 1 Over 1.5 Goals, for which the bookmaker 22Bet has set an odds of 2.18.
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