Home and Away: I fancy a taste of the Lorient

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Bet 1: Lorient (HOME) @ 1.64
Bet 2: Montpellier (AWAY) @ 2.18

Jonno Turner focuses on the French top tier for his two Home and Away picks today.

We're off to France for our Home and Away column today, with two picks from the top tier. But we're focusing on a classic case of in-form versus out of sorts first - as Lorient welcome Sochaux to the Stade du Moustoir, looking to extend their excellent recent form.

Christian Gourcuff's side are placed 10th in Ligue 1 ahead of this tie - and three wins from their last four suggests that they are well worthy of a place even higher.

A 3-0 win at Olympique Marseille last time out shows just how rich the vein of confidence running through this Brittany side is, and they will be hoping that they can record a fourth clean sheet from five games in this clash.

The hosts have lost just one league outing on their own patch all season - and are beginning to garner a reputation for being formidable in front of their own fans, with Gourcuff's side having tasted defeat only once since March.

Visitors Sochaux travel to the Moustoir sitting in 16th place in the table, and have won just three of their last 13 on their travels, which suggests that they could struggle against a home side showing such consistency.

Eric Hely's side could make it four without a win if they don't take maximum points here, and could get sucked into the relegation places if results don't go their way this evening.

The away side have kept just one clean sheet in 13 games, and those defensive lapses could have a large impact on the outcome of this encounter, with Lorient full of attacking prowess at home.

And history certainly favours Gourcuff's side here, who have lost just one of their last five meetings with Sochaux in front of their own fans.

Bet 1: Lorient (HOME) @ 1.64

Switching our attentions to Brest V Montpellier now - and at first glance this tie between two mid table sides looks to be a tough call.

But there is more than meets the eye with this clash. Brest go into this game in underwhelming form, having recorded just one win from their last five - and four goals conceded in their last two outings suggests that they could well be letting their attention slip at the back of late.

Landry Chauvin's side have won two of their last six on their own patch, which is not the level of consistency they will want to be showing if they are to make an impact at the higher end of the division.

And the Stade Francis Le-Bl side will be desperate to arrest that slide here - in a game which should be a useful indication of their potential this campaign.

Montpellier travel to Brittany in the midst of a similarly underwhelming season themselves - but only because they enjoyed such success last year.

Rene Girard's side do seem to be picking up in recent weeks though, and following a slow start to the campaign, they have lost just one of their last five going into this tie.

That will have helped confidence immensely down at the Stade de la Mosson, and La Pallaide will be keen to build on those results by chalking up their first away win since September here.

A useful 1-1 draw at Schalke in the Champions League last week suggests that the visitors are more than capable of holding their own on the road, and Girard will be hoping that his charges can recreate some of the magic that led them to the Ligue 1 title last year.

Bet 2: Montpellier (AWAY) @ 2.18