Following our
Gameweek 7 Tips, the midweek fixtures were fiercely competed with no less than 5 red cards across the board.
The main talking point was Nice's 6-1 hammering of Bordeaux in which Newcastle reject Hatem Ben Arfa stole the show with a brace and 22.29pts on
Mondogoal.
Our differential advice to select Reims pair Johny Placide and Hamari Traore came up trumps as their side secured a cleansheet in a no-score stalemate with Angers. Lorient continued their excellent run of form with a solid 2-0 home victory against Caen. Forward pairing Moukandjo and our tip, Majeed Waris, came up with the goods, a goal apiece earning the win that pushes Les Merlus into the top 10.
PSG were back, firing on all cylinders with a comfortable 3-nil victory over Guingamp. In the build up notorious figure Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but he was, despite having a penalty saved, successful in reversing these doubts. Outshining his in-form teammate Edinson Cavani and finishing with 20.19
Mondogoal points to Cavani's 5.35. We told you never to write off the Big Swede and he delivered.
Gameweek 8 commences this weekend with yet another chance for you to earn some cash prizes on
Mondogoal. Here are the fixtures and our Fantasy Ligue 1 Tips.
Saturday 26th September
Nantes vs. Paris Saint-Germain (
Note: Line-ups confirmed before lock time)
Rennes vs. Troyes
SC Bastia vs. Toulouse
Bordeaux vs. Lyon
Caen vs. GFC Ajaccio
Sunday 27th September
Marseille vs. Angers
Guingamp vs. Monaco
Montpellier vs. Lorient
Saint-Etienne vs. Nice
Cleansheet Potential
Bearing the bookies odds in mind Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille and Rennes are the trio most likely to attain a cleansheet. We are prone to go against these predictions on
Mondogoal, in search of differentials, but this week we cannot ignore the obvious. A side that could be utilised as a massive differential is Saint-Etienne; they play Nice, who put 6 past Bordeaux in Gameweek 7, however breaking down Saint-Etienne once, let alone 6 times, is a different task altogether.
Goalkeeper Tips
To kick things off, we are placing our faith in
Abdoulaye Diallo (5.6m). As expected Rennes are big favourites versus Troyes. Playing at home with visitors who have failed to score in 5 of their last 7 Ligue 1 matches, the script writes itself. On the other hand, Rennes are exceeding expectations; unbeaten in their last 6 matches and sitting in 3rd place. They will be eager to prove that they mean business, ahead of the likes of Lyon, Monaco and Marseille; therefore building from the back will be their priority.
The second keeper we advise considering, if you're brave enough, is Saint-Etienne's
Stephane Ruffier (8.8m). Following Nice's 6-goal showing on Wednesday, the vast majority of
Mondogoal managers will turn a blind eye on the Saint-Etienne backline. We feel that Nice's performance was massively aided by Bordeaux's naivety to continue pushing forward after going down to ten men. They played an open game, instead of staying compact and attacking on the counter, which ironically Saint-Etienne have proved efficient at in the past. If The Greens can tame Nice and halt Ben Arfa's threat then Ruffier could prove a huge differential masterstroke.
Defender Tips
Looking back at the bookies odds it appears a good idea to include a Marseille defender; despite their below par displays this season. Long-time Juventus full-back
Paulo De Ceglie (5.1m) made his first start for Marseille on Wednesday and with his only competitor, Benjamin Mendy shown a straight red after just 49 seconds on the park, De Ceglie will start yet again. The 29-year-old failed to live up to expectation in Italy and seeks a fresh slate in Ligue 1. The Italian displayed his attacking potential during a loan spell at Parma last year. De Ceglie finally managed to play a string of competitive games scoring 3 goals in just 11 appearances, which included a brace against Inter Milan. He provides a cheap alternative and possesses the correct attributes to succeed on
Mondogoal.
Having constructed an inexpensive list so far
Thiago Silva (10.7m) is a player who breaks this trend, but fully merits his premium price tag. The PSG skipper was given a rest midweek and is expected to return to the backline at the cost of either David Luiz or Marquinhos. Silva is one of the most talented centre-backs in World Football and displays great physical and mental intelligence on the field. He is extremely consistent and his stats are suited for Mondogoal. Silva's intelligence to read the game allows him to intercept frequently, 3.9 per game this season and tackle cleanly, which is very important, as you are penalised -0.5 points for every foul conceded on
Mondogoal. PSG are undefeated in their last 16 Ligue 1 fixtures and Nantes have failed to score in 5 of their last 7 matches, so a cleansheet for PSG looks very likely.
A defender who has crept under the radar, but has surfaced as a ‘must-have' for Gameweek 8 is Rennes'
Benjamin Andre (8.8m). We are mystified to why he is classified as a defender on
Mondogoal, as he has been playing and always has done in the number 10, attacking midfield role. This is a real bonus for
Mondogoal as it permits you to bank interception and tackle points, as well as collecting full cleansheet or 1-goal game points. Andre is surely the most likely ‘defender' to score or assist this weekend due to his advanced position. It's also worth mentioning that he is ranked 7th in Ligue 1 for fouls suffered this season. Andre's average
Mondogoal score is 7pts this season and as mentioned earlier we think there is a high possibility that 3rd placed Rennes will hold a cleansheet.
Another player who we added to our watch list following Monaco's flamboyant 3-2 victory over Montpellier was
Fabinho (10.3m). Similar to Andre he is an excellent ‘out of position' pick, currently filling in the heart of midfield, despite being listed a ‘defender'. In his previous match the 21-year-old tackled successfully on 5 occasions, as well as making 3 interceptions. These stats would be useless for a
Mondogoal midfielder; however, Fabinho will use the defender's scoring system from a midfield position. A win-win situation and he is also on penalty duty, scoring one on Thursday.
Due to Andre and Fabinho's attacking potential from defensive positions we feel that selecting a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation is the way to go for Gameweek 8.
Attacking Potential
Going back to the bookies odds, the most likely teams to score this weekend are Paris Saint-Germain (as usual), Marseille and Rennes, closely tailed by Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Caen.
Midfielder Tips
Like Thiago Silva, Laurent Blanc is expected to recall
Marco Verratti (12.1m) for the Nantes encounter. The Italian midfield maestro featured from the bench on Tuesday due to his side's busy schedule but has emerged a key player for both club and country this year. Verratti completes 97 passes on average per game, as well as producing 1.5 key passes per game. The hosts have been winning at both half-time and full-time in 8 of their last 9 matches vs. Nantes. This is total domination and statistically PSG triumph in every area, so including their chief ball carrier is a smart idea. Verratti has scored 6pts+ in his last 12 games started on
Mondogoal, which displays his extraordinary 'High Floor' scoring style.
With Paris Saint-Germain preparing for their Champion League fixture on Tuesday vs. the unpredictable Shakhtar Donetsk,
Lucas Moura (9.3m) could be in line to make the starting XI. The French Champions are the early kick-off, so make sure you have a peek at the lineups before settling on the Brazilian (also the case for Thiago Silva and Verratti). Lucas began the Ligue 1 season with a bang but has tailed off in recent weeks; the explosive winger will seek to reignite his season vs. Nantes.
Our third midfield tip that dovetails well with our De Ceglie pick is
Abdel Barrada (9.2m). The lanky midfielder was the standout performer for Marseille in their substandard 1-1 draw with Toulouse. He fared well on
Mondogoal, with 10.05pts, grabbing an assist and the Man of the Match award. In my opinion Akpa-Akpro deserved it, nonetheless that's a different matter altogether. Barrada ranks second in Ligue 1 for key passes per game (3.5) and leads the assist chart (3). Marseille cannot afford to slip up again and goal-shy Angers could be used as the perfect foothold.
Forward Tips
Lyon outclassed Bordeaux in the corresponding fixture last season with an emphatic 6-nil success, so it's that man,
Alexandre Lacazette (9.8m) who receives the attention. Despite Lyon's important Champions League fixture vs. Valencia on Tuesday, we presume the Frenchman will lead the line again. Lacazette played the full 90 minutes 3 nights before their opening CL fixture and with his sides existing injury woes, they have very little choice in the matter. 19-year-old Aldo Kalulu was the hero in Lyon's 2-0 win over Bastia on Tuesday, but the inexperienced forward will not lead the line singlehandedly. Lacazettes's form has been nothing short of terrible this term, but the French International did show glimpses of last year's quality in Gameweek 7.
Looking for a bargain buy on
Mondogoal with a decent fixture? Then look no further than Caen's
Andy Delort (3.7m). This is quite a ridiculous fee to pay for such a promising striker, with such a strong fixture in Gameweek 8. The Tom Hardy lookalike has taken 4.1 shots per game on average this season, more than any other player barring Martin Braithwaite, who we will talk about later… Ajaccio have lost their last 3 away matches in Ligue 1 and we are backing Delort to play a central part in Ajaccio's forecasted fourth straight loss.
You may be thinking… where's Ibrahimovic and Cavani? This week we have made a bold decision to leave out the pair due to anticipated rotation issues. We can see both players sharing the 90 minutes due to their upcoming Shakhtar Donetsk showdown. Instead
Martin Braithwaite (9.3m) gets the nod of approval. The striker has a large range of attributes; he's agile, quick, strong and importantly for
Mondogoal, Braithwaite shoots on sight. The Denmark International has attempted the most shots per game (4.7) in Ligue 1 this season and against a leaky SC Bastia defence, who conceded 3 goals in their last home match, we know who you should put your money on.
Join us next week for another Fantasy Ligue 1 Tips.
