Saturday's German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 predictions and free football tips

Best bets

Freiburg -1 on Asian handicap
Stakes returned if Freiburg win by one goal
Saturday 2.30pm
3pts 2.080 bet365

Nice draw no bet
Saturday, 4pm
1pt 7-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

Saturday's European football predictions

Freiburg have made an excellent start to life under new manager Julian Schuster and can maintain their fine form with a comprehensive victory over struggling Bundesliga new boys St Pauli. 

Former midfielder Schuster took over from previous boss Christian Streich at the end of last season, marking the final step in a long-term succession plan which appears to be paying off for the Breisgau Brazilians.

The 39-year-old has masterminded dominant wins over Stuttgart, Bochum and Heidenheim in his first four Bundesliga matches at the helm with Freiburg's only dropped points coming in a 2-0 loss at Bayern Munich.

St Pauli were promoted as Bundesliga 2 champions but the Hamburg outfit have found it difficult to adapt to life back in the top flight, scoring only one goal and claiming a solitary point from four outings.

Last weekend's goalless home draw with Leipzig was a step in the right direction but St Pauli had previously been demolished in a 3-1 loss on the road at Augsburg.

Freiburg are high on confidence and merit support at -1 on the Asian handicap, with stakes returned if they manage to win by a single goal. 

In Ligue 1, Nice look decent value in the draw-no-bet market against a Lens team who are winless in four games in all competitions.

Franck Haise worked wonders as Lens head coach, pushing Paris Saint-Germain all the way in the 2022-23 title race, but he's now in the dugout at Nice, who have caught the eye in recent weeks.

The Eagles won 4-1 at Angers prior to the international break and thumped St-Etienne 8-0 last weekend. They were the better side in Wednesday's 1-1 Europa League draw with Real Sociedad and should be able to cope with a three-day turnaround.

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.