• Competition: Ligue 1
• Date: Saturday, 24th August, 2024
• Kickoff: 16:00 UK / 17:00 CEST
• Venue: Parc Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon)

Lyon had two totally different halves last season. From the last placed team after 15 rounds to securing 6th place. Looking only at the last 15 or 20 games, Lyon were the best team in France, even better than PSG. However, they were super-active during the January transfer window, and that was the main reason for their success. They even managed to reach the Cup finals but lost to PSG. Over the Summer, they were pretty active once again but started the season on the wrong foot, losing to Rennes 3:0 away from home, and will be desperate to win points in their first home game this season.

Monaco surprisingly missed Europe in 2022/23 but had a much better last season as they finished 2nd. Still, they weren't too close to challenge PSG, finishing nine points behind. Over the Summer, they spent a lot of money, but most of those players are young ones, and it is hard to say whether they got any better compared to last season. After winning the first game 1:0 against St Etienne, the bookies see Monaco as the 3rd favorite for the title, with the odds around 15, behind PSG and Marseille.

Lyon vs Monaco pick: Over 2.5 goals

Lyon lost the first game 3:0 against Rennes, but after watching the game, we can safely say they were lucky to lose only by three goals. They had massive problems in defending in transition, and we believe that they might have big problems against Monaco, which played in a very offensive formation (against St. Etienne) with two strikers and two wingers. On the other hand, Lyon did failed to score in their first game, even missing the penalty. However, Lacazette was suspended, and this isn't the same team without him.

Last season, Monaco were one of the best teams in the league for this type of bet and the best one in road games. They were 12 times over 2.5 goals in 17 rounds - 71%, and an incredible goal-per-game average of 3.9. But considering they like to play offensive football, that shouldn't really surprise us. Even though they scored just one goal in their opening game, they had chances to score at least once or twice more. In fact, they did score but was dissallowed due to a minimal offside.

Additionally, Monaco played high-scoring games in the pre-season as well, with five of their seven games finishing with three or more goals.

In the previous two h2h games at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, we saw exciting games with five and four goals and with both teams scoring. Considering all the above, we believe that an over 2.5 goals bet should be the safest option for this Ligue 1 tie.