Betting preview: Irish giants to struggle against French duo

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Ahead of the action in the European Champions Cup, we take a look at the best bets from two of the games taking place this weekend.

Lyon v Leinster

Following a comfortable victory over Benetton, four-time champions Leinster will be presented with a sterner test when they head to a Lyon side that will expect to bounce back from their opening round disappointment.

Despite being at the summit of the Top 14, they were exceedingly poor in going down to Northampton Saints, struggling with their intensity and physicality as the English team came away with a 25-14 triumph.

Pierre Mignoni’s men improved later on in that encounter, scoring two tries in the final quarter, and the Frenchmen will look to take that into the game on Saturday.

The past year has shown this ambitious outfit that Europe is a very different beast from their domestic league, with them yet to even win a point in the competition. Lyon went into their debut tournament in 2018/19 with high hopes, but those were quickly extinguished and they were duly ousted in slightly embarrassing fashion.

As a result, Mignoni’s charges are 9/5 outsiders at William Hill to claim a victory over the Irish giants, but it would not be a surprise should they cause an upset. They are evidently a very good side and that represents good value.

The visitors will certainly be wary of their opponents’ threat, despite being 8/15 favourites with various bookmakers, and will want to avoid a repeat of last season.

Leinster opened the previous campaign superbly, thrashing Wasps, but were stunned by a French team in Round Two, succumbing to Toulouse at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. It came following a slack start and, for Lyon to repeat that effort by their fellow countrymen, they are 3/1 to win both halves.

Munster v Racing 92

Arguably the biggest game of the weekend takes place at Thomond Park as two-time winners Munster take on Racing 92, who will be looking to claim their first ever title this season.

They certainly started in the best possible way, comfortably defeating defending champions Saracens last weekend, but this will be a much tougher challenge.

The French outfit faced a weakened Sarries outfit, whose priority is to stay in the Premiership following their 35-point deduction for breaching the salary cap, but the building blocks appeared to be in place.

Their scrum was solid, the lineout was dominant and the backline was utterly devastating, but the test will be to repeat that against one of the pre-tournament favourites. Johann van Graan’s men are fancied for this encounter, with the hosts 4/9 at various bookmakers, but confidence is high at the Parisians.

They are 41/20 with Marathonbet to cause an upset and that is tempting when you consider their display in the opening round. However, the Irish province look strong and are once again well-drilled under the guidance of Van Graan.

Munster’s work up front is excellent, particularly at the breakdown, and they will put far more pressure on Racing’s pack. The team’s form, even without their Rugby World Cup stars, was impressive and those returning individuals have bolstered an already strong 23.

Meanwhile, the Frenchmen have faltered in the league so far this season, but have improved since the reintegration of their internationals. Finn Russell and Virimi Vakatawa were among those to come back into the side and, should those two fire on Saturday, that could see them edge the contest, with the visitors 5/2 to win by 1-12 points.

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