French and Scottish Leagues Substitute European Football Action

Saturday is a day off for international European football competitions, with a break between the Europa League and Champions League finals. On this day, football fans can bet on the first round of the French first division and the competitive matches played in the Scottish Premier League. Bordeaux and Lille have home pitch advantage and are narrow favorites to prevail, while Rangers and Celtic are expected to crush the competition.

Bordeaux Play Coin Flip Match with Nantes

Bordeaux used to rely heavily on home pitch advantage but this time they won’t have the support of the fans. This explains why they are only narrow favorites in the game against Nantes and bet365 Sports has them priced at 3/2. The home side has traditionally won, but with no fans in the stadium, the visitors are expected to play more aggressively. The odds currently stand as 21/10, but they are expected to rise.

Lille are Slight Favorites against Rennes

Lille owed their success last season to the impressive home pitch performance and they hope for another victory at Stade Pierre Mauroy. This time, there won’t be any fans propelling them forward and will take on a team that’s notorious for playing aggressive football regardless of venue. Under these circumstances, odds of 11/10 on the hosts and 5/2 on the visitors are spot on and a draw is also a likely result.

Celtic Chase First Road Win in the New Season

Celtic were unable to defeat Kilmarnock on the road and as a result they trail the archrivals by six points. Luckily for them, they have two games in hand and are likely to defeat Dundee United in the match scheduled at 7:30 PM UK time. Playing on the road doesn’t mean much for a team that wins regardless of venue and the odds of 1/4 are testament to this reality. 888 Sport doesn’t give the home side much of a chance, but punters willing to take a leap of faith with Dundee United will be paid at 10/1 if they win.

Rangers Try to Defend Premier League Lead

Rangers had the perfect opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League, but were held to a scoreless draw. They need to improve their performance against Kilmarnock, in a match played in Glasgow at 3 PM UK time. This time, they are priced at 1/5 and have their top 11 players fit to play, whereas the visitors struggle with injuries and suspensions. That’s why they are priced at 12/1 to cause an upset against a team they rarely defeated in past encounters.

Disclaimer:

The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Thursday, August 18 at 11 am UK time.