Lens vs Nice prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-09-27 15:00.
[p]Making a five-match unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season (W2, D3), Lens couldn’t have asked for much more in the infancy of new boss Will Still’s reign. He puts that unbeaten league run on the line this weekend against Nice, and with Lens having lost seven of the last nine top-flight H2Hs (W1, D1), history would suggest this will be their toughest test of the season so far. [/p]
[p]More recent history would hint they’ll be adding a draw to that record, as Lens have drawn their last three league outings, part of a wider run of five in seven. Not only that, but Still himself has seen three of his four personal H2Hs against Nice end 0-0, and having drawn their last home league game by the same scoreline, Lens could post successive goalless Ligue 1 stalemates for the first time since August 2007. [/p]
[p]After making history with an 8-0 victory against Saint-Étienne last week, Nice could only follow that result up with a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad in their Europa League opener. It again highlighted the grave inconsistencies of a side who have alternated between wins, draws and losses all season (W2, D2, L2), leaving Franck Haise with a bit of a problem to solve.[/p]
[p]There’d be nowhere better for him to tip the balance in favor of that win column than at a ground he called home for over four years. Both their league losses this season arriving on the road would suggest it will be an unhappy return for Haise, but the first goal could be key in deciding how his homecoming goes, as only one of the last nine Lens-held H2Hs saw both teams score.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Lens’ M’Bala Nzola struck on his Ligue 1 debut last week and he’s a fan of a late goal, with five of his last eight club strikes arriving after the 80th minute. Pablo Rosario has struck the last goal of the game in Nice’s last two outings, and one more strike would equal his best-ever senior scoring campaign. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Lens have kept a first-half clean sheet in their last six Ligue 1 home games, but the last team to score against them in that period was Nice![/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]