The relegation battle looms large in this week's round of Top 14 games. Will our tipsters stay out of the red zone?

Like the world's top rugby players, our tipsters have timed their seasons to perfection, starting slowly, hitting their stride before Christmas and finally reaching their peak for the big spring matches. Last week's eight games were reduced to seven by the Paris freeze, but Bouclier leader Jacques Hughes still managed to pick up his sixth treble of the season while Barry Mutuel earned five more points to stay in contention in the season-long tipping contest.

It's back to their clubs for our boys this week, with a full round of Top 14 games.

The tips are based on Paddy Power's handicap tips for each week's matches. Our tipsters will pick the winner of each game based on Paddy's head-starts, and nominate three games to put their hard-earned euros on. One of these three will be their banker - the Nap.

For every tip they get right, they get a point, with double points for the Nap. But if they get the Nap wrong, they lose two points. We've borrowed Napoleon's hat from Eric & Ernie to show you what the Naps are on the chart below.

Right, down to business - here are this week's handicaps - as set by Paddy Power - and our tips:

Top 14, Week 18 (handicap winners in bold)	Barry Mutuel (66+1pts)	Jacques Hughes (78+2pts)
Perpignan -6 vs Biarritz +6 (25-6)	Biarritz	Biarritz
Bayonne -3 vs Clermont +3 (22-22)	Clermont	Clermont
Bordeaux-Begles -1 vs Montpellier +1 (26-30)	Bordeaux-Begles	Montpellier
Lyon vs Racing-Metro scratch (22-33)	Lyon	Lyon
Toulouse -21 vs Agen +21 (21-10)	Toulouse	Agen
Brive -4 vs Castres +4 (13-15)	Brive	Brive
Stade Francais -5 vs Toulon +5 (19-19)	Toulon	Stade Francais

Barry's bets
Toulouse -21 vs Agen, Lyon scratch vs Racing-Metro, Brive -4 vs Castres

The Mutuel comeback starts at the home of French rugby, Stade Ernest Wallon. Les hommes de la Ville Rose sont sur le feu! Guy Noves’ charges have won nine of their last 10 league games (the other being a draw), and are a whopping 15 points clear of third-placed Toulon. Forget international call-ups, Toulouse have got a deep enough squad to plough on effortlessly. This week they entertain an Agen outfit that’s lost four of their last five. With three big home games upcoming, les Pruneaux have de plus grands poissons à faire frire, and will surrender meekly here.

If you’re not already aware, the battle for Top 14 survival is a rare old scrap. Of all the teams dans le merde, bottom-of-the-table Lyon have the toughest task. Their adjustment to life in the Top 14 has never been totally convincing. Don’t write them off yet though. Yes, they’ve won only two of their last nine in the league, but that run has also yielded two decent draws against Biarritz and Clermont. Racing-Metro are a team in turmoil and could find themselves as low as ninth in the table come Sunday. One thing’s for sure, they won’t have the stomach for this weekend’s fight.

Castres are a curate’s egg of a team. Although they sit proudly in fourth place, they’ve won only once more than ninth placed Bordeaux. Add to this a prolonged three-week break and the fact they’ve lost heavily on three of their last four league trips, and here’s a team that’s not to be relied upon. Tomorrow they travel to face a Brive side whose win over USAP last weekend snapped a seven-game winless streak. Although dogged, Les Correzains are far from convincing either, but with some crunch games on the horizon, this is a game they simply must win.

Jacques backs...
Brive -4 vs Castres, Lyon scratch vs Racing-Metro, Stade Francais -5 vs Toulon

Brive only have four home matches left between now and the end of the season, and this - along with the week 25 visit of Bordeaux-Begles - is the most winnable. Les Brivistes are capable of putting half-hearted teams to the sword at home, and Castres - whose early-season invincibility evaporated once everyone else got their World Cup stars back - are such an outfit. Brive to earn themselves a bit of breathing space with a tight win.

Lyon are in the same must-win category as Brive, and fortunately for them their crisis-hit Parisian visitors have too much on their minds to put up a fight in this inter-city affair. Lyon may only edge this by the odd point, but a Paris double - Stade Francais fell at Stade Matmut in October - will lift them out of the drop zone for the moment.

No current Top 14 side exemplifies the mythical (i.e. not really true) French win-at-home, lose-away mentality more than Stade Francais. Only a big win at Perpignan has upset that clichéd applecart, and with this gala match being hosted at a hopefully frost-free Stade de France, the Parisians will want to put on a show for the 60,000+ supporters. Toulon have hit free-flowing form down at Stade Mayol but still struggle on the road. A high-scoring affair with the hosts winning by a try or more.

Guide to Top 14 handicap betting
Remember this is handicap betting, where the bookie has predicted the margin of victory and set the odds for a win to either side to 10/11. This week, Brive are -4 vs Castres, so if you back Brive, they have to win by at least 5 points for you to claim your winnings. If you think they'll only win by 3 or will lose altogether, back Castresinstead. You won't make much taking a bet at 10/11, so it's better to put three or more bets together for an accumulator: if all three come in, your odds multiply so a £1 bet will win around £7 and so on. Of course, if you get one bet wrong, you lose the lot.