In other words, the precept of professional bettors is to move into those leagues where the focus of betting analysts is not so concentrated. That’s exactly what you should do, against the opinion of the average bettor. You can, of course, move towards different not-so-football countries, perhaps to other continents, but why. Just look at the top 5 league countries, only the lower divisions. In this review we will be introducing you to the French Ligue 2 in a betting context. We will take a look at the calendar and the format of this tournament. We will take a personal look at the teams that play in this group, mentioning the peculiarities of the bets and working play strategies for each of them. We will also look at the commonalities in the French Ligue 2.

TURNING FORMAT

There are 20 teams in Ligue 2 France. A respectable pool of clubs, a full-fledged league on a par with the top flight. The format is very typical for such a large number of participants: two rounds, each team plays two matches against each other, one at home and one away. The season thus consists of 38 rounds, a respectable distance.

The winner of Ligue 2 and the runner-up is automatically promoted to Ligue 1 for the following season. A further 3 clubs from 3rd to 5th places qualify for the play-offs. The holders of positions 4 and 5 play each other in the quarterfinals first. The winner of this pairing qualifies for the semi-finals against the third team. In phases 1/2 and 1/4 there is one match each, where the home team is the club with the higher ranking in the main phase. The final of this mini play-off takes place between the winner of the semi-finals and the team ranked third from bottom in Ligue 1. There is already a two-match format (home and away). The winner will play in the elite next season and the loser in Ligue 2.

The situation at the bottom of the final rankings is more or less the same. The two worst teams in the group go directly to the Ligue nationale (the third ranked division of the French championships). The third team from the bottom will play a two-match play-off with the third team from the National league. Same thing: The winner will play in the higher, second division and the loser will play in the third division.

The Ligue 2 tournament follows roughly the same calendar as Ligue 1. It is a typical Central and Southern European “autumn-spring” system. The league season starts at the end of July or at the beginning of August. The winter break is very short, from the twentieth of December, the Catholic Christmas, until the first decade of January. In other words, nothing at all. France’s mild climate favours this. It all comes to an end in late May. The relegation play-offs can last until the first few days of June. So there’s a summer break of about two months, with time to eat croissants and baguettes outside Bordeaux.

LORIAN

Prior to the 2017-2018 season, the club Lorient played several draws in France’s top division, Ligue 1. But this is the third championship the team has played in Ligue 2. In the last couple of seasons, the team failed to qualify for the play-offs, sometimes staying one step back or a couple of places short. In the current campaign they decided not to indulge and went straight back to the elite. Before the spring leg of the tournament, Lorient were in first place by a good margin.

Of course, in February a slight relaxation overtook the team, the leaders began to lose points, defeats began to alternate with victories. That eventually cut the gap to four points. This situation will clearly spur the team on and it’s worth expecting Lorient to make another run for it, in order not to let their rivals get any closer.

Particularly great in the current Ligue 2 draw, the team has performed well at home. Barring a few defeats on the back of relaxation, Lorient at home are very formidable. Of course, there have been few defeats, dominated by modest minimal victories: 1-0, 2-1. You can play them as a favourite, but with caution. You certainly shouldn’t play with minus handicaps, it’s France. Where it works out, it will be worth playing a zero handicap. It is normal to take their ITB(0.5), ITB(1) on Lorient at home.

Lorient also plays well on the road, but of course their average loss of points is a bit higher. Here too, you can play them from a position of strength, on zero handicaps, double odds X2, moderate ITB from 0.5 or 1.