Ligue 1

At the top of the French league system there is Ligue 1. The highest french national football competition is known to be a top five league in Europa which automatically makes it one of the most prestigious national football competitions in the world as well. Ligue 1 is one of the most viewed leagues by football fans, sports bettors and analysts from all over the globe. It definitely became more popular after PSG had been taken over by Qatari businessman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. After this takeover, some of the world’s best players became part of PSG’ star ensemble like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar Junior, Kylian Mbappé and most notably and arguably the best player in recent history, Lionel Messi. Ligue 1 is also known to be somewhat imbalanced after this takeover, with PSG being extremely dominant. There is, however, an argument that counters it partially. Lille and Monaco have managed to become champions after PSG fell into Qatari hands.
French clubs have done a decent job in Europe but solely judging them on Europa Cup I/Champions League titles, they have only managed to lift one trophy (Olympique Marseille). That is the same amount as countries like Schotland, Romania and Serbia. Though, according to many football enthusiasts it will be just a matter of time until PSG gets their hands on the cup with the ‘big ears’. During the time of writing, this division consists of 20 clubs but from season 2023/2024 onwards it will just have 18 teams playing in it. Ligue 1 winners and runners up qualify for the group stage of the Champions league the upcoming season. The third ranked side will have a chance to enter Europe’s elite tournament as well but they need to survive the qualifying rounds. Numbers four and five will go into next campaign’s Europa League and number six will try to qualify for the Europa Conference League the upcoming season. If a club that is ranked sixth or lower wins the Coupe de France, they will receive a ticket to play in the Europa League group phase instead of the fifth ranked team in Ligue 1. The French top flight is also known to be somewhat defensive and a low scoring league. Though, in recent years the average goal per game has gone up as well as the level of play. Is the French league suitable for your betting style? Let’s find out.

Ligue 1 history

In 1932 the first national league in France was established. Firstly it was named ‘National’, secondly it carried the name ‘Division 1’ and lastly from 2002 until today it’s called Ligue 1. The French top division underwent many changes throughout the years when it comes to the amount of teams featuring in the league as well as the amount and structure of relegation spots. The most successful clubs in France are PSG and St-Etienne with both ten league titles (at the time of writing). This tells us that titles have been divided over numerous clubs and that we cannot point out a club that has historically dominated over a long period of time. In European competitions success was not super prominent for French representatives. Though many fantastic players have played in this national football competition. The likes of Jean Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, Laurant Blanc, Michel Platini and many more have roamed the French football pitches.

Popular teams that play in Ligue 1

The fact that PSG and St-Etienne have won the most league titles has been mentioned (on the day of writing). St-Etienne doesn’t play in the Ligue 1 at this very moment. Lyon, Monaco, Nantes and Marseille have all won seven league titles or more. Ligue 1 titles are pretty evenly divided amongst clubs in France. Since the change of the century, Lyon has been the first club that has been dominating the French division with seven consecutive league titles between 2001 and 2008. Since PSG has been taken over, they pretty much took over the power in Ligue 1 with eight titles in ten years. PSG is home to the most star players in the league right now. After being taken over, they’ve been on a desperate hunt to lift the most prestigious cup in European football: the Champions League. They haven’t succeeded so far.

Tips for betting on Ligue 1

Ligue 1 is a relatively low scoring competition. As a punter, you need to be careful with betting on ‘overs’. On the other hand, there might still be value in betting on this market. Look at it game by game but again, be careful. Good thing about this league and its popularity is that it’s quite easy to get the information on games that you really need. To counter this, bookmakers can get most of this information as well. But like we’ve said before: it is impossible for bookmakers to use all the information out there on the internet. As a sports bettor, you can make a difference here and create an edge.The last betting tip we can give you is the pitfall of betting in favor of heavy favorites, especially PSG in this league. Odds on PSG are usually extremely low and thus hard to find value in. Betting against heavy favorites might not feel natural for most bettors but there is usually more value in betting against favorites compared to betting in favor of favorites. Most recreational sports bettors bet on favorites predominantly which makes the odd drop even more on many occasions.

What type of bets are suitable for this league?

Asian handicaps are the most suitable bets to place on this league from our point of view. Margins can be slim between teams and any clue that might make a difference is there for you to exploit. ‘Over/under’ bets can also be interesting. Be careful with betting overs solely and don’t be afraid to bet under a certain amount of goals. There is usually more value in ‘unders’ than ‘overs’. Draws might also be a good market to look at. Games can be really tight in this division, especially towards the relegation zone.

Alternatives to betting on Ligue 1

The amount of goals per game is relatively low in this league. If we compare this to other leagues in Europe we can conclude that the Portuguese Primeira Liga comes closest to the French top division. That’s why these leagues could be comparable from a betting point of view. With PSG reigning supreme at the moment we can easily compare the Ligue 1 to the Bundesliga. These things can change in the future but for now this part is very comparable to the German Bundesliga.

Bookies with Ligue 1 affinity