Racing Club Lens vs FC Nantes Atlantique
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Today’s free tip is in the French Ligue 1 encounter between Racing Club Lens and FC Nantes Atlantique.
Racing Club Lens have been excellent since finally making their long-awaited return from Ligue 2. Given who they signed pre-season though, it was as plain as day to see that they would. I mean, Kakuta, Ganago, Fofana, Medina – great signings to an already good squad. This is a pretty big club, at least by French standards, so the intent is very much that they re-establish themselves as a Ligue 1 staple. With the squad they’ve got, they really should be able to achieve that. I don’t think anybody needs reminding that underestimating this team is pretty fatal.
However, Racing Club Lens were brought back down to earth with a bang in their derby hammering against Lille OSC last weekend. It came at a cost too, both Michelin and Gradit seeing red in the process. That in itself has got to be a record, hasn’t it? Two red cards in a game where Cahuzac was on the pitch, and yet he wasn’t one of the two! Bizarre times indeed, folks, bizarre times.
Anyway, Racing Club Lens now find themselves in a bit of a pickle today. Their injury list had been mounting anyway before their suspensions were taken into account. As things currently stand, they’re missing most of the defenders that they have in their squad, some of which are regulars, and some of which are backups. On top of Michelin and Gradit, Sylla, Fortes, and Traore are also out, the latter of which hasn’t played a game this season. Defensive midfielder Fofana is still out, and now Cameroonian forward Ganago is out too. As good as Racing Club Lens are, there’s simply not a chance in hell that they can cope with this many absentees. They’re still newcomers at this level after all, despite their past experience at this level.
Everybody that was signed for this club pre-season was done so with a specific intent in mind. For example, boss Haise recognised that they wouldn’t see much of the ball, and thus focused on counterattacking threats like Ganago. With big Banza/Sotoca as the target men, and support from Jean/Kakuta/Boura, Ganago has found it very easy to get opportunities, and to score goals. Therefore, his absence today is particularly poignant because he’s the only one in their attack that can’t really be replaced. The chances of Cahuzac being able to do what Fofana would be able to are slim. How they intend to deal with almost all of their defence being out, I simply don’t know. I really do like what I’ve seen from Racing Club Lens this season but what’s left today is a shadow of what has been there in other games.
On top of that, I think Racing Club Lens have had marginally favourable fixtures, or at least picked good times to face teams. I mean, an unsettled, impotent Girondins de Bordeaux? A fellow newly-promoted Lorient? A defensively suspect Nimes Olympique? A Covid-19 ravaged Paris Saint-Germain? An AS Saint-Etienne squad missing most of its star players? Look, you can only beat what is in front of you, and Racing Club Lens have done that well, but speaking objectively, they’ve had a lot of luck too. It could even be argued that, in their biggest/hardest games this season, they’ve lost every time. Food for thought.
A combination of the above makes me favour the visitors anyway here. To be honest, even if Racing Club Lens weren’t missing players, I would still find the odds on the home win to be far, far too short. There are easier games at this level, and then there are harder games. For a team like Racing Club Lens, the easier games come against those that play attacking football, leaving space in behind because they don’t control games well enough. That’s not the case with teams like FC Nantes Atlantique though, which is an outfit that specialises in keeping the ball. That’s what they’ve been training to do – under a variety of different managers – for quite a few years now, and they’ve become bloody good at it.
As always, Les Canaris still have major issues with actually putting the ball into the net. Don’t be fooled, though – that literally is their only weakness. Under the radar, they may just have found a solution to that problem now that they’ve brought in Augustin from RB Leipzig. It was a no-brainer to sign him on a free transfer anyway; nothing lost, right? He can’t play today, for clarity, just like regular line-leader Coulibaly. New signing Emond has shown no signs of being that ruthless finisher that FC Nantes Atlantique require either. Let’s hope it’s Augustin in due course, huh? When they find that man, you’ll see just how good this team is, and appreciate how well they’re playing football on a regular basis because there’ll be an end product. For now, it’s a bit anti-climactic because of their lack of a goal-scorer.
Still, this team is very good at keeping and using the ball. They’ve signed players that are all very comfortable in possession, and are mostly very fast too. Exchanging positions on the pitch, overlapping runs – everything is very fluid in this team. Their opponents have to be very fit and attentive to deal with them. If you get around their high pressing intensity, you can find a defence that, barring Pallois (who is ageing), is quite vulnerable. Their tactics are usually good enough to prevent teams from doing this though. The away team do have some complications of their own today with Fabio and Chirivella joining Augustin and Coulibaly on the sidelines. Still, they’re players that can be replaced, as opposed to the absentees of their hosts, which cannot be replaced.
FC Nantes Atlantique are very good at probing defences with their fast wide threats, talented dribblers, and intricate triangle passing. It’s just a case of them taking one of those chances to put them in the driving seat. They’ve won every game this season that they’ve taken the lead in, and that’s not a coincidence. This is not an easy side to play against, especially not for under-strength Racing Club Lens.
Therefore, I’ve got to view odds of 3/2 on the away win with draw no bet cover as something of a bargain here, really.
Verdict: FC Nantes Atlantique to win with draw no bet at 3/2.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Austrian Bundesliga
LASK vs St. Polten
Swarovski Tirol vs Hartberg
Wolfsberger AC vs Rapid Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Antwerp vs Germinal Beerschot
KV Oostende vs Zulte-Waregem
Sint-Truiden vs Standard de Liege
Brazilian Serie A:
Fluminense vs Santos
Atletico Goianiense vs Palmeiras
Internacional vs Flamengo
Athletico Paranaense vs Gremio
Bulgarian A PFG:
CSKA 1948 Sofia vs Slavia Sofia
Arda vs CSKA Sofia
Montana vs Ludogorets Razgrad
Croatian Prva Liga:
Sibenik vs Dinamo Zagreb
Danish Superligaen:
AC Horsens vs FC Nordsjaelland
Randers vs SonderjyskE
AGF vs FC Copenhagen
English Premier League:
Southampton vs Everton
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Newcastle United
Arsenal vs Leicester City
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Kuressaare vs Flora Tallinn
Nomme Kalju vs Flora Paide
Faroese Betrideildin:
Skala vs B36 Torshavn
KI vs IF
EB/Streymur vs TB
Finnish Ykkonen:
VPS vs Gnistan
French Ligue 1:
Racing Club Lens vs FC Nantes Atlantique
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Nimes Olympique
Stade Brestois vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Metz vs AS Saint-Etienne
Montpellier HSC vs Stade de Reims
OGC Nice vs Lille OSC
Olympique Lyonnais vs AS Monaco
German Bundesliga:
VfL Wolfsburg vs Arminia Bielefeld
Werder Bremen vs TSG Hoffenheim
German Bundesliga 2:
Heidenheim vs Osnabruck
VfL Bochum vs Erzgebirge Aue
SV Sandhausen vs Paderborn 07
Hungarian Liga 1:
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Budafoki MTE
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Fehervar
Diosgyori VTK vs Puskas FC
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Italian Serie A:
Cagliari vs Crotone
Benevento vs SSC Napoli
Parma vs Spezia
ACF Fiorentina vs Udinese
Juventus vs Hellas Verona
Italian Serie B:
Cosenza vs Lecce
Cremonese vs Brescia
Dutch Eredivisie:
Fortuna Sittard vs FC Groningen
Vitesse Arnhem vs PSV Eindhoven
Sparta Rotterdam vs Heracles Almelo
RKC Waalwijk vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
ADO Den Haag vs AZ Alkmaar
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK vs Stromsgodset
Bodo/Glimt vs Mjondalen
Valerenga Oslo vs Kristiansund
Sarpsborg 08 vs Rosenborg BK
Aalesund FK vs Odd
Portuguese Liga 1:
Moreirense vs Maritimo Funchal
Farense vs Rio Ave
Famalicao vs Boavista
Vitoria Guimaraes vs Sporting Braga
Portuguese Liga 2:
Varzim vs Estoril
UD Oliveirense vs Sporting Covilha
Russian Premier League:
Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast vs Tambov
FK Rostov vs FK Khimki
Akhmat Grozny vs FK Ufa
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Valladolid vs Deportivo Alaves
Cadiz vs Villarreal CF
Getafe CF vs Granada CF
Real Sociedad vs Huesca
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Kalmar FF vs Falkenberg
Ostersunds FK vs Hammarby
Orebro vs Helsingborg
Malmo FF vs IFK Goteborg
Swiss Super League:
Young Boys Bern vs Luzern
Turkish Super Lig:
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Genclerbirligi
Alanyaspor vs Faith Karagumruk
Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!