Nantes vs Lens prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2022-09-17 15:05.
The euphoria of Nantes’ first trophy in 21 years has now all but dissipated, after a 3-2 weekend loss at Lorient put them sixth-bottom going into the new week. That result also ensured the current crop has made a worse seven-game start in Ligue 1 than in 2020/21, when only a relegation playoff saved them from the drop after an 18th-placed finish.
Eighteenth now means relegation due to an incoming structural change in French football, so the pressure is growing on coach Antoine KombouarĂ©, who after a humiliating 3-0 reversal against QarabaÄź in midweek – when KombouarĂ© rotated his side – acknowledged the importance of this weekend’s game by saying “we must win at all costs”. A positive home league record in 2022 (W7, D4, L2) will give the coach and his team hope they can claim just their second win of the Ligue 1 season, but an ongoing run of eight league outings at the Stade de la Beaujoire without a clean sheet highlights a major issue.
In contrast, Lens look like a side going places after going undefeated through the first seven rounds (W5, D2). With that run having equalled the seven-game start the revered class of 2001/02 made en-route to second place, and in the aftermath of their recent win over Troyes, coach Franck Haise claimed his side was “capable of great things”.
That feeling is reinforced by Lens’ strong run of just one loss across their previous ten Ligue 1 road trips (W5, D4). While none of those victories saw a clean sheet, the fact that they came from behind to win three of them is indicative of the spirit Lens possess on hostile turf, surely priming them to end a 21-year wait for a top-flight away victory vs Nantes.
Players to watch: Including the winner at this venue and a double in the return game, Nantes’ Moses Simon netted in both of last season’s clashes against Lens. That only puts extra pressure on Loïs Openda to outdo him, with the visitors’ summer arrival snatching a point on their last road trip, making him the final scorer of the day in his last two goalscoring outings.
Hot streak: None of the last 14 Ligue 1 H2Hs at Nantes have seen both teams score before half-time.