[gregm]

I 'm going to start a thread later tonight for Saturday but I wanted to get this one in. Line seems real short to me. Montpellier is surprisingly the number 1 team in French league one this year, in a tight race with Paris St. Germain right behind them. Montpellier is the best home team in french League 1 football against a very poor away team in Valenciennes who is barely above relegation and coming off some lousy defeats.

Huge game for Montpellier , they are coming off a horrible loss to one of the worst teams in the league on sunday and Paris st Germain is right there behind them. Montpellier is a different team at home though.

Montpellier -1 -118 risk 2.36

Montpelliers home record. Greens are wins

Games Ago	Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition
Last	07/04/2012	Montpellier	2-1	Sochaux	France Ligue 1
2	24/03/2012	Montpellier	1-0	St Etienne	France Ligue 1
3	11/03/2012	Montpellier	3-0	Caen	France Ligue 1
4	25/02/2012	Montpellier	1-0	Bordeaux	France Ligue 1
5	11/02/2012	Montpellier	3-0	AC Ajaccio	France Ligue 1
6	04/02/2012	Montpellier	1-0	Brestois	France Ligue 1
7	14/01/2012	Montpellier	1-0	Lyon	France Ligue 1
8	17/12/2011	Montpellier	1-1	Toulouse	France Ligue 1
9	03/12/2011	Montpellier	4-0	Lorient	France Ligue 1
10	19/11/2011	Montpellier	1-0	Marseille	France Ligue 1
11	29/10/2011	Montpellier	2-0	Nancy	France Ligue 1
12	15/10/2011	Montpellier	5-3	Dijon	France Ligue 1
13	24/09/2011	Montpellier	0-3	PSG	France Ligue 1
14	11/09/2011	Montpellier	1-0	Nice	France Ligue 1
15	21/08/2011	Montpellier	4-0	Rennes	France Ligue 1
16	06/08/2011	Montpellier	3-1	Auxerre	France Ligue 1

Valenciennes Away record. Reds are losses

Games Ago	Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition
Last	31/03/2012	Auxerre	2-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
2	18/03/2012	Lille	4-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
3	03/03/2012	Sochaux	1-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
4	18/02/2012	Marseille	1-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
5	04/02/2012	Dijon	1-2	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
6	14/01/2012	Bordeaux	2-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
7	17/12/2011	Nice	2-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
8	03/12/2011	Evian Thonon Gaillard	2-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
9	26/11/2011	Toulouse	2-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
10	06/11/2011	Rennes	1-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
11	22/10/2011	St Etienne	1-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
12	01/10/2011	Lorient	2-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
13	21/09/2011	Nancy	1-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
14	10/09/2011	AC Ajaccio	3-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
15	21/08/2011	PSG	2-1	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1
16	06/08/2011	Caen	1-0	Valenciennes	France Ligue 1

Great article on some crucial matches across europe this weekend. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...n-7661635.html

[vasilli07]

Like Montpellier too but abit worried they may crumble under pressure.

[gregm]

I agree that its alot of pressure, it must be enormous pressure for a team that has never won a League One title in its long history to be in this position. They may falter down the stretch but I think the number is good Saturday for a team with such strong showings at home and this one is sort of a must win game for them if they want to capture the title looking at their remaining schedule and PSG and their schedule.

Montpellier still has Lille, Rennes, Evian and Toulouse left. League one is like musical chairs at time with winners of the title though. Look at the money PSG spends compared to this small club from the south. This would be an incredible title if they can hold on.

[beefcake]

Good stuff as usual greg,I got them for +650 for betpoints 2 months ago to give me some rooting interest for the title.Always root for the small spending clubs.

[gregm]

Thanks beef. Great futures there, I would never thought of them to win this, but French league one is pretty unpredictable. It is never the same team it seems over the last few years, Lyons dominance of the league over the last decade seems to be over.