Without a doubt, the biggest disappointment in Ligue 1 so far this season has been the form of Monaco, and if they are to challenge in the upper echelon of the table, they need to turn their slow start around as soon as possible. The club has won just one of its Sportsbook five matches and sits in 15th place on five points – only a point above the relegation zone. On Friday night, they host Nimes looking for three highly valuable points.
- A total of 24 goals have been scored in Nimes’ five games so far this season.
- Monaco is conceding goals at a rate of 1.4 per game.
- Nimes has never beaten Monaco in any domestic competition.
Monaco without a win in its last four league encounters
Even more worrying for Monaco and coach Leonardo Jardim is that they are without a win since the Sportsbook day of the season. On that occasion they comfortably dispatched Nantes 3-1, but since then defeats have followed to Bordeaux and Marseille, as well as a loss in their UEFA Champions League curtain raiser against Atletico Madrid earlier in the week.
Quite simply, this match has become a must-win for Monaco and the month of September is not even out. Thankfully for them, they come in as the red-hot favorites to take the points.
Looking at a simple bet based solely on the outcome of the match, Monaco comes in at -143 to record just their second league win of the season. Nimes, which currently sits above Monaco in the early-season table, is priced at +375 to collect its third victory of the campaign, with a draw priced in the middle at +300.
Outlook likely to improve for Monaco here
There were signs, however, in its last league game – a 1-1 draw away to Toulouse – that Monaco was beginning to find its rhythm, and we are expecting a comfortable home win on Friday night. A 3-1 win for Monaco is priced competitively at +1100, but given the number of goals we have seen in games involving Nimes so far this season, we expect that trend to continue, for the time being at least.
Last time out, Nimes was involved in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Bordeaux and prior to that was beaten 4-2 by current Ligue 1 champions PSG. We therefore believe that OVER 2.5 goals in the game is a decent bet to make in this game, with that outcome coming in at -167, while both teams to score is priced at -150.
Nimes began this season with two wins on the trot, including a hugely impressive 3-1 win against title contenders Marseille, but has rather fallen away over recent weeks. They have since taken just one point from their following three games, and have conceded 12 goals at a rate of 2.4 goals per game. It should also be pointed out, however, that they have also netted 12 goals themselves.
A tough test for Nimes and goals for Falcao
While Nimes is not among the favorites to be relegated, they certainly began the season above par. They are at +700 to drop down to Ligue 2, but the likelihood is that they will finish comfortably in the bottom half of the league table.
As mentioned above, Monaco is expected to be battling it out with the best teams in the division, and is at +150 to finish in the top three, an achievement that is certainly not beyond them given the resources at Jardim’s disposal. In veteran forward Radamel Falcao, they have a proven goal threat, and the Colombian forward is at +3300 to finish the campaign as the top scorer in Ligue 1.
Regarding this game, he is the favorite to get on the scoresheet and we expect him to do so. Falcao is priced at just -150 to net at any time during the game, while you can back him at +260 to score either the first or last goal of the game. With two goals already this season, we fancy him to get at least two more against Nimes, and you can back him to score two or more on Friday at +275.
