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 USA is particularly important because there’s a shared heritage with that country. On this page, you will see:
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:
There are 20 teams in total, who all play each other home and away during the regular season
Points are awarded for a win (3) and any matches that end in a tie (1)
The team with the most points after all 38 games have been played are crowned Ligue 1 winners and champions of French soccer
Teams that finish in the top three places qualify for the UEFA Champions League the following season
Whoever finishes fourth goes into the UEFA Europa League
The two teams that finish bottom and second bottom in the Ligue 1 table are automatically relegated to Ligue 2
Those teams are replaced with the top two sides in Ligue 2 for the following season
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
If two teams finish level on points, then goal difference and goals scored are used to separate them
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
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 USA. You may also see prices quoted in fractions – the British way – and there’s more on how these compare in the odds calculator below:
It’s good to know your options. Here are some of the most popular Ligue 1 betting types available on sportsbooks:
As you can see above, betting on soccer is most straightforward when you place a wager
What will the exact final result in goals be between two teams?
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).
Will the number of goals scored in total be over or under certain brackets?
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.
Futures markets that last for the entire season are also popular for Ligue 1 betting in USA. Who will win the title is the most common.
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.
Which soccer player will score the most goals in the regular Ligue 1 season?
The French league enters its professional era with Ligue 1 originally called National and later Division 1
Jean Nicolas scores a record seven goals in a single Ligue 1 game for Rouen against Valenciennes
Racing Paris score a record 118 goals, the most by any team in a single Ligue 1 season
Josip Skoblar sets the Ligue 1 record for most individual goals in a single season with 44 for Olympique de Marseille
Saint-Etienne win a record 19 home games in Ligue 1
Saint-Etienne win the last of their record 10 Ligue 1 titles
Delio Onnis sets the record for most Ligue 1 career goals with 299 scored
Marseille win the UEFA Champions League, but are stripped of a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title due to a bribery scandal
France win the FIFA World Cup on home soil with many Ligue 1 stadiums used for tournament finals games
Ligue 1 adopts its current name
Jeremy Menez becomes the youngest player ever to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick aged 17 years and 260 days
Lyon win a record seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title
Mickael Landreau sets the record for most Ligue 1 appearances with 618 games played
Zlatan Ibrahimovic equals the record for most consecutive Ligue 1 games scored in with nine, also achieved by Vahid Halilhodzic in 1985
Monaco match PSG’s record for most wins in a single Ligue 1 season with 30 on route to the title
That’s all from our guide to betting on Ligue 1. French soccer really resonates in USA 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.
Ligue 1 is the top division of professional soccer in France.
To refresh your memory, these are some of the most popular bets placed on Ligue 1:
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!
You can bet on Ligue 1 and many other soccer leagues from around the world on mobile.
Live betting is where you can bet on Ligue 1 matches as they happen.
