Predictions and Best Bets for French Ligue 1 Games on August 6-8 (2021)

The 2021-22 season of the French Ligue 1 starts this Friday with the match between Monaco and Nantes. A day later, two more games are to take place: Lyon vs. Brest and Troyes vs. PSG.

The remaining seven matches of the Round 1 of the French top tier are all scheduled for Sunday. The games in question are the following:

As you can see, there are some interesting matchups this weekend and quite a few to consider targeting at the top soccer betting sites. I will now reveal my favorite French Ligue 1 picks for round one, providing game analysis along the way.

Monaco won against Nantes in each of their previous six meetings. The record is even more impressive when it comes to their duels played at Stade Louis II. On Monaco’s turf, Nantes lost seven straight games, scoring only one goal along the way.

I think the trend will continue for at least another game. It’s just that Monaco is a much better team than Nantes. Les Monégasques seem strong in all areas of the play, led by the former Bayern Munich manager, Niko Kovac.

Monaco should have no problems winning the Ligue 1 season opener, especially knowing that one of Nantes’ crucial players is out. The man I’m talking about is midfielder Kader Bamba who’s suspended.

Olympique Lyonnais (a.k.a. Lyon) is the team that reached the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League last year, after knocking out such heavyweights as Manchester City and Juventus.

This season, we’re not going to see Lyon in the continent’s most elite championship. What this means is that this team’s main focus is going to be the French Ligue 1.

Last season, Les Gones (The Kids) finished in the #4 position; this season, their ambitions are even higher!

They got a new manager (Peter Bosz); the old one (Rudy Garcia) quit after failing to qualify for the Champions League. They also got some changes in the team, especially in the final third, with forward Memphis Depay moving to Barcelona.

Still, none of those changes should affect Lyon’s chances in the first round of the French Ligue 1. Why? Because they’re playing against Brest, one of the main relegation candidates.

The team from the westernmost part of the country (Brittany) barely missed the relegation in the 2020-21 season, finishing just one spot off the danger zone.

The transfer of Kylian Mbappe cost PSG more than $210 million. To put it in perspective, the total value of all Troyes’ players is estimated to be around $47 million. It’s a lot of money, but Mbappe is worth it!

Although he’s still only 22, the French international is already the #3 top-scorer in the history of PSG. Furthermore, he’s been the top scorer of the French Ligue 1 for the last three seasons.

The most recent season was his best – Mbappe scored 27 goals in the 31 games he played in 2020-21.

Obviously, he’s a goal-scoring machine, but there’s another reason why I’m certain he’ll get on the scoresheet on Saturday.

The thing is that PSG’s opponent is a Ligue 1 newcomer, Troyes. Last season, this team played in the second tier of the French league system.

Christophe Galtier is the manager who ended PSG’s Ligue 1 dominance by leading Lille to the 2021 title. The trophy-winning manager is no longer in the club – he’s now at the helm of Nice.

Last season, Nice finished below the Euro zone, but with a new manager, this team’s future looks good. It’s not just about the manager; it’s also about the players. There are some really talented guys in the squad, most notably the Danish striker Kasper Dolberg, who did brilliantly at the Euro 2020.

Some players who’ve come to the French Riviera include Justin Kluivert (from AS Roma), Pablo Rosario (from PSV), and Mario Lemina (from Southampton).

In Round 1, Nice’s opponent is Reims, a team we could see struggling this season. In the 2020-21 season, Reims finished with just one point more than Nantes, who ended up in the Relegation Playoff.

The reigning champion is taking on a mediocre team that finished in the middle of the Ligue 1 table last season. So, why aren’t the Lille odds much shorter than 1.72?

Well, there are several explanations, one of which is that Lille has a new boss. The man in question is Jocelyn Gourvennec, whose managerial portfolio isn’t too impressive. Before getting this job, he was the manager of Guingamp, a team playing in the Ligue 2.

Still, the fact is that Gourvennec did start his Lille tenure in top-gear. He made his debut in the French Super Cup, in which his team beat PSG 1-0.

I don’t think Metz has the ability to ruin Gourvennec’s League 1 debut as the Lille manager. The reason, however, isn’t that I think he’s a brilliant coach (I don’t). Instead, it’s the fact that Lille has pretty much the same manpower as last year when they won the title.

Here are my other Ligue 1 predictions for the first round:

The last time we saw more than two goals in Ligue 1 games between Rennes and Lens was back in 2009. I think their duel on Sunday is also going to be a low-scoring affair.

I also expect to see Bordeaux winning on Sunday, the main reason being that Clermont is a newcomer from the Ligue 2.

The most successful French club, St. Etienne, should also get a win. The game is played on St. Etienne’s turf, which is where this team has won every single game against Lorient since 2013.

Strasbourg and Angers are probably going to split the points, as they did in February when they met the last time.

The final game of the round will see the ex-Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli making his debut as Marseille boss. I don’t think it’s going to be a successful one, though.

If you’re going to make a parlay consisting of Ligue 1 first-round matches, the bets above are the ones I’d recommend choosing.

With ~3.60 odds, this parlay bet would bring you a $260 profit on a $100 stake. Sounds good, but how certain is it that these three will win?

Well, Monaco is one of the best teams in the league, and it’s been like that for years. It’s pretty much the same case when Lyon is concerned. Then, there’s Nice, a team with high ambitions for the upcoming season.

All three teams are determined to start the new Ligue 1 campaign with a win. Luckily for them, that shouldn’t be hard as their opponents in Round 1 aren’t too tough.