Welcome back to our Ligue 1 Fantasy Football Tips. NaturalFootballFan returns with his Mondogoal picks for the weekend's action.
Gameweek 12's Saturday fixtures were another exciting showcase, 13 goals, a new club dropping into the relegation zone for the first time this season and with 4 dismissals across the board. Sunday's encounters failed to live up to this expectation with just 2 goals in the remaining 3 fixtures.
Moving onto Gameweek 13 and with our partners at Mondogoal providing another set of competitive tournaments; be sure to check out our recommendations and join the action today!
Fixtures
Saturday 7th November
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Toulouse (*Check Lineups 1hr before KO here*)
Caen vs. Guingamp
Lille vs. SC Bastia
Lorient vs. Troyes
Montpellier vs. Nantes
Reims vs. GFC Ajaccio
Sunday 8th November
Marseille vs. Nice (*Check Lineups 1hr before KO here*)
Bordeaux vs. Monaco
Lyon vs. Saint-Etienne
Cleansheet Potential
1. Paris Saint-Germain
2. Lorient
3. Lille
4. Marseille
5. Monaco
Goalkeeper Tips
Saturday:
There are two routes available when selecting your keeper for Saturday. The first and perhaps the safest option is to delve into your budget and cough up the cash for Paris Saint-Germain's Kevin Trapp (11.2m). This will be the popular decision made by Mondogoal managers who prefer to rely on a cleansheet, rather than banking on their expensive forward to score a brace etc. On the other hand, the second option is to chip into your budget and keep your cash close to your chest by selecting Benjamin Lecomte (5.9m). This approach is riskier, as Lorient are somewhat leaky at the back, nevertheless Troyes are their opposition and have failed to score in 6 of their last 7 fixtures in Ligue 1. Both players offer a solid output; it's possibly the difference between pairing a premium goalkeeper with a cheap forward or vice-versa.
Sunday:
For Sunday, our keeper of choice is Steve Mandanda (6.4m). The experienced Frenchman is a steal at this price and following Marseille's recent upturn in defensive stubbornness, which has seen them secure back-to-back cleansheets; it seems a no-brainer. Facing Nice, who appear to have hit a wall with just 1 win in their last 4 matches, after speeding out from the blocks early on in the season, a cleansheet for the hosts is our prediction.
Defender Tips
Saturday:
As soon as we noticed Maxwell in the Paris Saint-Germain starting XI for the midweek clash with Real Madrid, it confirmed our first defender tip for Saturday. Layvin Kurzawa (10.8m) will be frustrated with his lack of playing time since arriving from AS Monaco for 17.5million, but is expected to start this afternoon. Paris Saint-Germain welcome Toulouse � a side who have lost 13 of their last 16 away fixtures. With his attacking prowess combined with the fact that only 3 players in Ligue 1 made more interceptions than Kurzawa (93) last season, he has top-notch attacking potential and a ‘high floor' on Mondogoal.
Sunday:
Monaco travel to the renamed Matmut Atlantique stadium on Sunday to face Bordeaux, in a match-up where two goal-shy clubs meet. The hosts have seen under 2.5 goals in their last 3 games in Ligue 1 while there have been under 2.5 goals scored in the visitors last 4 matches. So, all in all, we are expecting a withdrawn contest in which our pick Elderson Echiejile (7.3m) will reap the benefits. He will start in place of Fabio Coentrao, who has unfortunately been ruled out with an injury. The Nigerian International is solid defensively on Mondogoal with 3.2 tackles and 3 interceptions per game in Ligue 1 this season. Echiejile is not bad going forward, but don't expect a Kurzawa-like productivity and, to be honest, he's in our tips for the cleansheet potential and price.
Attacking Potential
1. Paris Saint-Germain
2. Lorient
3. Marseille
4. Lyon
5. Reims
Midfielder Tips
Saturday:
First off in midfield is Man United cast-off Angel Di Maria (13.4m). He has now won the Man of the Match award in each of his last 3 appearances and still appears to have much more in the tank… he was referred to as having 3 lungs at Real! You'll be getting tired of us recommending Paris Saint-Germain players by now, nevertheless, with their domination of Ligue 1 since 2012 they are bound to dominate our list as well. They are currently hampered by injuries with the trio of Lucas (ankle), Verratti (calf) and Pastore, suffering from conjunctivitis, all out - while Marquinhos is struggling with a thigh complaint. This is not the end of the world for PSG, as their strength in depth is unrivalled in this league and they will simply call upon the experienced Ibrahimovic and Di Maria to carry them. We fancy the latter to relish under this responsibility and score more points than his price on Mondogoal.
Sunday:
Sunday's midfield tip might come as a surprise to some, but taking into consideration that he was rested during midweek we are going with Marseille's Abdel Barrada (6.8m). This game has goals written all over it; the last three meetings between these sides, at the Stade Velodrome, has ended with 8 goals for Marseille and 6 for Nice. Barrada has taken over set-piece duty since Payet's departure, so with goals on the horizon, there is a high chance that one of them will come from a corner or even better from a direct free-kick. The Moroccan is ranked 3rd in Europe for key passes per game (3.4), only ousted by his old teammate Dimitri Payet and Arsenal's assist king Mesut Ozil.
Forward Tips
Saturday:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (17.5m) is once again our headline act… maybe we should give him a permanent slot in our weekly column! There's not much to say about this larger than life character, except keep on picking him. In Ligue 1 this season the Swedish striker has averaged 16.19 points per game on Mondogoal and with 5 goals in his last 3 Ligue 1 matches, everyone knows what Ibrahimovic is capable of. So don't try to be smart and fade him on Mondogoal, his justification in your team is beyond doubt.
Sunday:
Lyon are undefeated in 21 of their last 23 home matches in Ligue 1 and we have a hunch that a certain underperforming striker is about to come into his own on Sunday. The man in question is Alexandre Lacazette (9.4m). To reflect his top goal scorer status of last season, we believe now is the time for his long-awaited breakthrough of this season. The 24-year-old has looked a great deal sharper recently and has been chipping away towards producing a major impact for his side. Lacazette will have a low ownership on Mondogoal, due to his recent lack of confidence in front of goal; take this gamble and don't look back.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more Daily Fantasy Football Tips at fplbet. Good Luck!
