French Ligue 1 Soccer Betting Guide for 2024
Ligue 1 has been and continues to be home to some big names in soccer. This is our detailed betting guide to the best league in France.
French Ligue 1 betting in Canada is particularly important because there’s a shared heritage with that country. On this page, you will see:
- What the best Ligue 1 betting sites are
- Popular wagers and types of odds available
- French Ligue 1 betting advice on how it works and a brief history
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An Introduction to Ligue 1
First thing’s first, a good place to start our guide to French Ligue 1 betting is by making sure you understand the basics. Here are our top 10 facts about this league:
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There are 20 teams in total, who all play each other home and away during the regular season
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Points are awarded for a win (3) and any matches that end in a tie (1)
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The team with the most points after all 38 games have been played are crowned Ligue 1 winners and champions of French soccer
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Teams that finish in the top three places qualify for the UEFA Champions League the following season
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Whoever finishes fourth goes into the UEFA Europa League
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The two teams that finish bottom and second bottom in the Ligue 1 table are automatically relegated to Ligue 2
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Those teams are replaced with the top two sides in Ligue 2 for the following season
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Whoever finishes third bottom goes into the relegation/promotion play-offs that also involve the teams that were third, fourth and fifth in Ligue 2 during the regular season
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If two teams finish level on points, then goal difference and goals scored are used to separate them
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Even if two teams are still level after those tiebreakers, then head-to-head goal difference and fairplay rankings are used to classify them in the final table
How Ligue 1 Odds Work
There may be some of you out there who have never placed a bet before. If that’s the case, then this section where we explain how French Ligue 1 betting odds work should be instructive:
These prices above are typical for betting on the match result of a Ligue 1 game. PSG, that’s the popular abbreviation of Paris St-German, are favourites to win.
For every C$5 you stake on PSG, you will receive C$4 in profit if they do indeed justify favouritism and win. That is a total return of C$9 on your bet as you get your stake back.
You can bet on a draw or tied game in soccer. A C$4 wager on the score being level here returns C$13 – that is C$9 profit.
Lyon, the popular short form of Olympique Lyonnais, are the outsiders. Betting C$1 on them gives you a return of C$5 and C$4 of profit.
We’ve used decimal odds in our example, but the American money line system is also popular in Canada. You may also see prices quoted in fractions – the British way – and there’s more on how these compare in the odds calculator below:
Ligue 1 Betting Options
It’s good to know your options. Here are some of the most popular Ligue 1 betting types available on sportsbooks:
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Match result
As you can see above, betting on soccer is most straightforward when you place a wager on the match result. Either team can win or the game can end in a tie.
Eg:PSG1.80 -
Correct Score
What will the exact final result in goals be between two teams?
Eg:PSG3-217.00Lyon -
Goalscorer markets
You can also place various bets on who will score goals in a match. These can be anytime, first, last, two or more and even a hat-trick (three goals).
Eg:Neymar to score two
or more3.75 -
Total goals over/under
Will the number of goals scored in total be over or under certain brackets?
Eg:Under 2.5
goals1.33Over 3.5
goals4.50 -
Handicaps and spread betting
Certain big teams can dominate league matches and will be a short price for victory in the regular match result market. Betting on them with a handicap is an alternative way to find value.
Traders at sportsbooks will set brackets or margins, often referred to as spreads in North America. These are pretend deficits based on current form and other stats for favourites to overcome or advantages for the underdog to hold.
A winning bet is said to have covered the spread or handicap.Eg:PSG with
-2.5 goals2.70Saint-Etienne
with +1.5 goals1.90 -
Outright winner
Futures markets that last for the entire season are also popular for Ligue 1 betting in Canada. Who will win the title is the most common.
Eg:PSG1.50 -
Relegation betting
Who will be relegated from Ligue 1 at the end of the season? Remember, the bottom two teams automatically go down from this league, while the promotion/relegation playoffs follow the regular season.
Eg:Toulouse9.00 -
Top goalscorer
Which soccer player will score the most goals in the regular Ligue 1 season?
Eg:Kylian Mbappe1.25
What is Ligue 1 Live Betting?
- Ligue 1 betting odds are also available on matches as they happen live
- This is known as live or in-play betting
- Regular fixed odds markets end when a soccer match starts
- Live betting then kicks in with prices constantly updating to reflect what’s happening on the pitch
- Popular live betting markets include next team to score and next goalscorer
A Brief History of Ligue 1
The French league enters its professional era with Ligue 1 originally called National and later Division 1
1932Jean Nicolas scores a record seven goals in a single Ligue 1 game for Rouen against Valenciennes
1938Racing Paris score a record 118 goals, the most by any team in a single Ligue 1 season
1960Josip Skoblar sets the Ligue 1 record for most individual goals in a single season with 44 for Olympique de Marseille
1971Saint-Etienne win a record 19 home games in Ligue 1
1975Saint-Etienne win the last of their record 10 Ligue 1 titles
1981Delio Onnis sets the record for most Ligue 1 career goals with 299 scored
1986Marseille win the UEFA Champions League, but are stripped of a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title due to a bribery scandal
1993France win the FIFA World Cup on home soil with many Ligue 1 stadiums used for tournament finals games
1998Ligue 1 adopts its current name
2002Jeremy Menez becomes the youngest player ever to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick aged 17 years and 260 days
2005Lyon win a record seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title
2008Mickael Landreau sets the record for most Ligue 1 appearances with 618 games played
2014Zlatan Ibrahimovic equals the record for most consecutive Ligue 1 games scored in with nine, also achieved by Vahid Halilhodzic in 1985
2016Monaco match PSG’s record for most wins in a single Ligue 1 season with 30 on route to the title
2017Conclusion
That’s all from our guide to betting on Ligue 1. French soccer really resonates in Canada and you should now have everything you need in order to get betting on this league.
For even more Ligue 1 betting advice, see the FAQs section below that holds answers to common queries.
FAQs
What is Ligue 1?
Ligue 1 is the top division of professional soccer in France.
What are the most popular Ligue 1 bets?
To refresh your memory, these are some of the most popular bets placed on Ligue 1:
- Match result
- Correct score
- Goalscorer markets
- Total goals over/under
- Handicaps and spread betting
- Outright winner
- Relegation betting
- Top goalscorer
What are the best Ligue 1 betting sites?
You’re in luck. If you want to know what the best Ligue 1 betting sites are, they feature in our list of top casinos on this page!
Can I bet on Ligue 1 on mobile?
You can bet on Ligue 1 and many other soccer leagues from around the world on mobile.
What is Ligue 1 live betting?
Live betting is where you can bet on Ligue 1 matches as they happen.