Ligue 1 Betting: All-out attack on cards as Marseille and Bordeaux prepare for Sunday night showdown

Andre-Pierre Gignac has scored 10 goals for l'OM this season

Marcelo Bielsa's and Willy Sagnol's sides will entertain the crowds, writes James Eastham, who picks out the weekend's top bets across France...

Bastia v Lyon (15th v 3rd)
Sat, 16:00 GMT

Bastia played with real enthusiasm and quality to beat Montpellier 2-0 a fortnight ago in their first game since the sacking of Claude Makelele. The departure of the former PSG and Chelsea midfielder appeared to give the players a lift and suggested there is greater potential in this Corsican side than Makelele had been able to draw out.

Bastia are yet to appoint a new permanent manager but I expect another highly-motivated performance as the players continue to try to impress the caretaker bosses and whoever may eventually take over on a full-time basis (ex-Bastia manager Frederic Hantz and former Marseille boss Elie Baup are the favourites). Even when the side was struggling to pick up points under Makelele they normally managed to score at home - Bastia have found the net in six of eight matches at Stade Furiani this season.

Visitors Lyon arrive in tremendous form - they've won their last five games and are W7-D2-L0 since the start of October. They've scored at least once in 16 out of 17 games in all competitions and have found the net in all seven away games while failing to keep a clean sheet on the road in Ligue 1.

The stats and likely attitude of the sides point towards an open and exciting encounter. Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals are the selections to consider.

Recommended Bet
Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.111/10

Nice v Reims (12th v 10th) and Montpellier v Toulouse (13th v 11th)
Sat, 19:00 GMT and Sun, 16:00 GMT

Only seven of Nice's 13 games have featured under 2.5 goals but several of their more high-scoring encounters have been against the division's top sides: 1-3 v Lyon, 0-4 at Marseille, 1-3 v Bordeaux. When they play lower- or mid-ranking sides such as Reims, their games tend to be lower-scoring, and that should be the case this weekend.

Reims also look capable of making this a low-scoring game: since the end of October their more defensive approach has paid off as they're unbeaten in five games (W3-D2-L0) and have kept three clean sheets. Expect a solid approach this weekend from a Reims side that would probably settle for a draw.

Montpellier have scored only 11 goals in 13 games and lack a single player capable of getting 10 goals this season. Eleven of their 13 league games to date have featured under 2.5 goals, including five out of six at home. Toulouse's games have been higher-scoring but Montpellier's defensive nature makes this a decent low-scoring selection.

Toulouse are slight outsiders to win - they're 3.052/1, as opposed to Montpellier's 2.77/4 - making the visitors the value pick. Toulouse have a poor away record (W2-D0-L5) but have played better on the road than those results suggest and have good team news going into this game, especially in defence. I would expect Toulouse to avoid defeat against limited hosts so support the visitors on the Asian handicap.

Recommended Bets
Nice v Reims and Montpellier v Toulouse Under 2.5 Goals Double @ 2.77n/a
Toulouse DNB (Draw No Bet) @ 2.111/10

Marseille v Bordeaux (1st v 4th)
Sun, 20:00 GMT
Live on BT Sport 2

In the 1980s Marseille v Bordeaux became one of the most colourful rivalries in the history of French football thanks to flamboyant presidents Bernard Tapie (Marseille) and Claude Bez (Bordeaux) and their attempts to outdo each other in the transfer market. This weekend the flair and flamboyance ought to be on the pitch as the two clubs are currently guided by managers that encourage high-tempo, attacking football.

Since taking over as Marseille manager in the summer Marcelo Bielsa has revolutionised the way his side play by asking his players to press high up the field and attack (and defend) in sixes and sevens rather than ones and twos. As a result Marseille's games have been fast-paced and exciting, and this weekend should be no different.

Bordeaux manager Willy Sagnol is almost a Bielsa-lite: he has also asked his team to press high up the field and - unusually for Ligue 1 - wants Bordeaux to be cavalier rather than cautious on the road. Before the season began Sagnol admitted he was willing to see his side concede more chances than normal as long as they kept attacking and kept opening up the opposition defence. The stats reflect Sagnol's approach: Bordeaux have conceded in 12 of 13 matches yet are managing to ride high in fourth place in the table. Both teams have scored in 10 out of their 13 matches, with eight of those 13 matches featuring over 2.5 goals.

Given how these two sides have played this season this should be one of the most exciting Sunday night encounters of 2014-15 so far. Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals are the selections to consider.

Recommended Bet
Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.01/1

2014-15 P/L (1pt per bet)

Staked: 39pts
Returned: 41.96pts
P/L: +2.96pts