The Saturday night kick off takes us to France for a big game in Ligue 1 between Lyon and Monaco. Both sides were in contention for the league title for much of last season before Lille eventually took the title in a very exciting title race. Things aren’t looking so rosy this time around with Lyon in midtable and Monaco not faring much better in sixth. The title, even at this early stage looks beyond them with PSG unsurprisingly running away with it at the top of Ligue 1.
That doesn’t take away from the magnitude of this game and with it being shown live on BT Sport and having done a cheat sheet there are plenty of names sticking out for me in this one. My favourite Bet Builder tips and picks are explained below. Scroll down to the bottom of the article to see my cheat sheet for the game which should help you with your own betting predictions.
Lyon v Monaco Bet Builder tips
Houssem Aouar to have 1+ Shot on Target v Monaco
I am sure many of you will be familiar with the Lyon midfielder due to his almost constant links with Arsenal in the past 18 months or so. The 23 year old is outrageously talented and despite his young age is very much the playmaker in this Lyon side. He is constantly being scouted by top European clubs and I would be surprised if there weren’t a number of top scouts in Lyon to keep an eye on his performance in this high-profile game.
He is traditionally known as a ‘number 8’ but this season he has been allowed more offensive freedom and has often played in the ‘number 10’ role behind the striker. It is in this role where he has flourished and his 5 appearances in attacking midfield this season have produced 2 goals and 2 assists. He has become a much more forward-thinking player and his stats show it. He ranks top at Lyon for shots on target with a very healthy average of 1.53 per game, that is even more than lone striker Lucas Paqueta. He also takes on a lot of shots (3.34 per game), again this is second to only Paqueta in the entire squad. He really looks as though he means business this season and is playing for that big money move, fancy him to register a shot on target in this one.
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Houssem Aouar 1+ Shot on Target v Monaco @ 1.36 at Paddy Power
Wissam ben Yedder to have 1+ Shot on Target v Lyon
For Monaco, well you have to look to their skipper and talisman Wissam Ben Yedder to do the business. The French striker has been a revelation since coming to Monaco a couple of years ago in a big money move from Sevilla. A ridiculous 48 goals and 21 assists in just 86 games for the French club shows what a top-quality all round striker he really is and whenever I watch him play I am taken aback by what a threat he looks. He comes into the game having scored in each of the last 4 Ligue 1 games, his best run in the league since he scored 6 in succession between September and October 2019.
He will very much fancy his chances of extending that scoring run against a Lyon side who are without a clean sheet in each of their last 5 league games. Worth noting he is also the designated penalty taker should Monaco get one and Lyon are renowned for conceding spot kicks. They have conceded a pen in 3 of their last 5 games and Ben Yedder will have the easiest of attempts at a shot on target should Monaco get a penalty. His cheat sheet stats are pretty decent with the French international averaging 0.96 shots on target per 90 from the 1.61 shots he attempts.
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Wissam ben Yedder 1+ Shot on Target v Lyon @ 1.3 at Paddy Power
Ruben Aguilar to be Booked v Lyon
We finish with a booking once more and I really like the look of Monaco right back Ruben Aguilar to do the business. He is Deployed in an interesting role that sees him act as a right winger or right wing back without possession (depending on the phase of play) and a right winger in possession.
It will be interesting to see how often he is allowed to venture forward by Kovac given he is directly facing off against one of the most dangerous forward players in the division in Karl Toko Ekambi. As you can see from the cheat sheet, Aguilar features highly on the fouls committed list, 2nd to only fellow fullback Jakobs. I have opted for Agular though due to him being a guaranteed starter and he is likely to face off against Ekambi who features amongst the most fouled Lyon players.
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Ruben Aguilar to be Carded v Lyon
Lyon v Monaco Cheat Sheet
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Lyon v Monaco in Ligue 1
📅 When is Lyon v Monaco? / Saturday, 16 September 2021, 20:00 BST
🏟 Where is Lyon v Monaco taking place? / Parc Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon)
📺 What TV Channel is Lyon v Monaco on? / BT Sport 2
📱 Online Live Streaming for Lyon v Monaco / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for Lyon v Monaco? / Amaury Delerue 🇫🇷
