Ligue 1 changed shape during our data. For the first two seasons it had twenty clubs and 380 matches each. Since 2023/24 it has had eighteen clubs and 306 matches. The league also stands out for red cards for a league that books so few players: about one match in five has one. This page looks at what that means for betting. The table below holds the league’s tips from an outside prediction provider, shown as published.
The figures use 1,678 Ligue 1 matches from 2021/22 to 2025/26.
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Fr1
Olympique Marseille
Strasbourg
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Fr1
Lens
Auxerre
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Troyes
Paris FC
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Fr1
Toulouse
Lyon
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Nice
Lorient
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Le Mans FC
Brest
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Angers
Lille
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Le Havre
Monaco
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PSG
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More Predictions
An average league, with a twist
Ligue 1 sits in the middle on most measures. The average match had 2.82 goals, over 2.5 landed in 53.5% of matches and BTTS in 55.1%. Home teams won 43.4% and 24.6% of matches were drawn.
| Measure | Ligue 1 |
|---|---|
| Goals a match | 2.82 |
| Over 2.5 | 53.5% |
| Both teams scored | 55.1% |
| Home win | 43.4% |
| Draw | 24.6% |
| Match with a red card | 21.3% |
| Yellow cards a match | 3.74 |
BTTS has been fairly stable. By season it ran 55%, 58%, 54%, 57% and 51%, with the latest season the lowest.
Red cards
The twist is the red cards. A red card appeared in 21.3% of Ligue 1 matches, about one in five. Only the Primeira Liga (24.7%), La Liga (22.2%), the Segunda División and Serie B (21.8% each) were higher among the 18 leagues. The Premier League had a red in only 10.6%.
What’s odd is that yellow cards are rare. Ligue 1 averaged 3.74 yellows a match, below the 4.14 average of 18 leagues, and it takes 6.48 fouls to earn one. The result is a league with few yellows and many reds. A bet that counts reds as cards, or uses booking points, is where it matters.
PSG
Paris Saint-Germain have shaped the league’s figures. In 2024/25 they won with 84 points and 92 goals, 19 clear of Marseille on 65, with Monaco third on 61.
In 2025/26 they finished top again, on 76 points, only six ahead of Lens on 70, with Lille third on 61. The tables come from the results in our data.
The gap shrank sharply. When one club wins by 19, a heavy favourite’s price is reasonable. When it wins by six, it isn’t.
Home and away
Home teams won 43.4% of matches and away teams 32.0%. The home side failed to score in 22.7% of matches and the away side in 29.0%. The side with more shots on target won 58.9% of matches, and Ligue 1 teams averaged 8.90 shots on target, turning 31.7% of them into goals.
None of that is unusual, which is the point. Most of what makes Ligue 1 different is in the cards.
Half-time and full-time
First halves are about average: 1.27 goals, a level break in 39.3% of matches. The home lead and home win was the most common half-time/full-time combination at 26.5%, and away lead and away win was 18.3%. Turnarounds happened in 5.66% of matches, about one in eighteen.
Double chance
The covers behave like a typical league: 1X landed 68.0%, X2 56.6% and 12 75.4%. With only 24.6% of matches drawn, 12 is one of the stronger covers in the data.
Corners
Ligue 1 is a low-corner league. It averaged 9.47 a match, and over 9.5 landed only 46.2% of the time. Over 10.5 landed 34.3%. Home teams took 54.5% of the corners. For a corner total, that makes Ligue 1 a league where the under side starts ahead.
Ligue 2
The second division is lower scoring and more guarded. Matches averaged 2.45 goals, BTTS landed in 48.4% and over 2.5 in 45.2%. It’s also where referees let the most through: 7.30 fouls per yellow.
Five rules for Ligue 1 tips
- Read your bet’s card rules. Reds change totals and booking points more here than elsewhere.
- Use 12. With 24.6% draws it lands about three times in four.
- Don’t expect many corners. The league is below average.
- Be careful with PSG prices. Their margin over the rest has varied.
- Don’t compare with the old 20-club league. The league is a different size.
Common mistakes
The first is expecting lots of yellow cards from a league with lots of fouls. It takes more fouls to earn a yellow here than in most leagues.
The second is treating a red card as rare. One match in five has one.
The third is using Ligue 2 numbers for Ligue 1. They’re quite different.
Questions people ask
How many teams are in Ligue 1? Eighteen since 2023/24, and twenty before that.
How often are there red cards? In 21.3% of matches.
How many goals per match? 2.82 on average.
Does PSG win the league every year? In the two completed seasons in our data, they finished top both times.
How often do both teams score? 55.1% of matches.
Do Ligue 1 matches have many fouls? The average was 24.2 a match, more than the Premier League’s 21.5, yet yellow cards were lower.
Is 12 a good double chance in France? With 24.6% of matches drawn, it landed 75.4% of the time, among the better covers in the data.
Where are other leagues? See Eredivisie and Liga Portugal.
Tips are estimates and not promises. You must be 18 or over to bet, and a stake should be money you can afford to lose.