Lille will be looking to maintain their fine start to the season as they travel to Nantes for a Friday night French Ligue 1 fixture.
Nantes head into Friday’s clash off the back of a 0-0 draw with Angers in their opening fixture of the season. They saw more of the possession but were wasteful in attack with the duo of Evan Guessand and Ludovic Blas looking slightly off colour.
Having won the Coupe de France last season, Nantes appear to be struggling to find their rhythm this term. Antoine Koumbouare’s men were outclassed by PSG prior to last week’s big kick-off as they were hammered 4-0 in the Trophee des Champions.
The problem for Nantes appears to be a lack of fire power in attack with the likes of Moses Simon, Blas and Guessand, who all impressed last season, struggling to get going this term. They have now failed to score in their last three matches, a run stretching back to preseason.
Lille showed they mean business this season as they claimed a 4-1 victory over Auxerre in their opening fixture. Jonathan David was once again the star of the show as he netted a brace while Benjamin Andre and Akim Zedadka were also on target.
The most impressive thing about Lille’s victory on the opening weekend was how settled they looked despite all the changes this summer. They appear not to be missing the likes of Zeki Celic, Burak Yilmaz, Sven Botman and Renato Sanchez, who have all left the club.
It may still be early days in the campaign but Lille are already looking like the team to give champions PSG a run for their money this season.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with a win for Nantes priced at 19/10 by SBK, who are also offering 8/5 for a Lille victory. A draw is set at odds of 23/10 by William Hill.
Recent head to head
Lille are unbeaten in the last 14 matches against Nantes, claiming 10 wins in that run. They also won 1-0 on their last visit to the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Players to watch
Ludovic Blas was pivotal to Nantes’ success last season as he emerged top scorer with 15 goals across all competitions. With the hosts banking on the attacker to find his form soon, he could be backed at 3/1 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Friday.
Jonathan David scored 19 goals for Lille last season and appears to have picked up where he left off with his brace in the opening fixture. The Canadian forward has also scored two goals in his last two visits to Nantes and is priced at 2/1 by bet365 to find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
Nantes are likely to be fired up for their first home game of the season and given the quality in Lille’s attack, both teams could be backed to score at 17/20 with William Hill. Lille saw over 3.5 goals in their opening fixture and a repeat is priced at 29/10 by BetVictor, who are also offering odds of 21/20 for over 2.5 goals.
Lille have opened the scoring in the last six matches with Nantes and could be tipped to grab the first goal on Friday at evens with Coral.
This French Ligue 1 match between Nantes and Lille will be played on Aug 12, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nantes vs Lille prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
