Metz vs Racing Club Lens
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Today’s free tip is in the French Ligue 1 encounter between Metz and Racing Club Lens.
Initially, I was toying with backing the visitors here. I mean, they’re playing excellent attacking football, and picking up a lot of points. I still think that they’ll win it but with their hosts denying the odds a lot of late, I’m somewhat loath to do so. They’ve been lucky to get the points they have, Metz, but they’re still doing enough on the break to win penalties consistently. With more and more players returning to fitness with each passing week, Metz are going to start improving their displays soon too. I guess what I’m saying is that this one is a bit too open for me to call. I don’t doubt that Racing Club Lens are the better team but Metz haven’t had to do much to score goals lately.
I will give Metz credit, though – they never give up. Mentally, they’re very strong. They rely far too much on their athleticism to be trusted to actually win games, but I can understand why it’s hard to beat them. A team like this will always be able to counterattack, even after long periods without seeing the ball. Metz aren’t going to keep many teams out playing that way, and nor do they pretend to be able to do so. All they focus on is hurting teams at the other end, and they do it well, even if they’re not very clinical.
When you fuse the natural athleticism of Metz with their work-rate, it does tend to produce a positive display, even if the result isn’t favourable. Metz have a lot going for them in that respect. They may not be able to control games/opponents, keep teams out, or to be trusted to take their chances when Niane is out. They always create opportunities against teams that come at them though, and Racing Club Lens are going to attack them at the Symphorien tonight. Therefore, my belief is that Metz will at least score in this game, whether they get something from it or not.
Racing Club Lens are in good shape ahead of this away trip, having just hammered AS Monaco away from home. To be fair to the newly-promoted side, they’ve actually been excellent throughout the campaign. The only exception would be when they had a lot of absentees at once for a few weeks because they don’t have much by way of depth. I’d happily argue that they did better than any French team when it comes to pre-season transfers, though. They’ve set themselves up brilliantly for this season, and it consistently shows on the pitch.
No, Racing Club Lens are not perfect but they get an awful lot right. They’ve got a good enough combination in the final third to be able to pass their way to goal, score from set pieces, or simply sit back and wait for opponents to leave gaps or make mistakes. Racing Club Lens were setup as they are to score goals, and they do so very well. The way they build their attacking game around the speed and movement of Ganago has proved some very positive outcomes this season, especially with a naturally gifted playmaker like Kakuta on the park.
Of course, Racing Club Lens have got a backup option in the form of a couple of big target men too. They’re an all-round pain to handle, Racing Club Lens, and containing them is something that even France’s elite have failed to do this season. Their only real weakness is their defence. They’ve had absentees and newcomers but for me, it’s mostly a lack of quality. Medina is a good player to build the defence around for the future but for now, they’re look a bit too open. I think Metz’s lightning fast counters can upset them because of it.
Ultimately, I’m left feeling like backing both teams to score at 9/10 is the right thing to do here.
Verdict: Both teams to score at 9/10.
Saturday’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:
Hartberg vs SCR Altach
Sturm Graz vs St. Polten
Admira Wacker vs Rapid Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Zulte-Waregem vs Sint-Truiden
Racing Genk vs Kortrijk
Brazilian Serie A:
Sport Recife vs Gremio
Coritiba vs Botafogo
Internacional vs Palmeiras
Bulgarian A PFG:
Beroe vs Montana
Croatian Prva Liga:
NK Osijek vs Sibenik
Dinamo Zagreb vs Varazdin
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Marila Pribram vs Karvina
Baumit Jablonec vs Ceske Budejovice
Slovan Liberec vs Mlada Boleslav
English Premier League:
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
Southampton vs Manchester City
Everton vs Arsenal
Newcastle United vs Fulham
French Ligue 1:
Metz vs Racing Club Lens
Olympique de Marseille vs Stade de Reims
OGC Nice vs Olympique Lyonnais
German Bundesliga:
RB Leipzig vs Koln
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs TSG Hoffenheim
Schalke 04 vs Arminia Bielefeld
Mainz 05 vs Werder Bremen
Augsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich
German Bundesliga 2:
Osnabruck vs Paderborn 07
Eintracht Braunschweig vs Greuther Furth
Hungarian Liga 1:
MTK Budapest vs Paksi SE
Diosgyori VTK vs Zalaegerszegi TE
Ferencvaros vs Budafoki MTE
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Haifa vs Hapoel Kfar Saba
Hapoel Hadera vs MS Ashdod
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Maccabi Haifa
Italian Serie A:
ACF Fiorentina vs Hellas Verona
Sampdoria vs Crotone
Parma vs Juventus
Italian Serie B:
Brescia vs Reggiana
Chievo Verona vs Empoli
Cremonese vs Cosenza
Vicenza vs Ascoli
Lecce vs Pisa
Reggina vs Cittadella
Pescara vs Monza
Venezia vs SPAL
Dutch Eredivisie:
Sparta Rotterdam vs FC Groningen
VVV Venlo vs FC Twente Enschede
RKC Waalwijk vs PSV Eindhoven
FC Utrecht vs Fortuna Sittard
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Odd vs Stromsgodset
Bodo/Glimt vs Viking Stavanger
Molde FK vs Sarpsborg 08
Portuguese Liga 1:
Maritimo Funchal vs Belenenses
Tondela vs Moreirense
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Farense
Portuguese Liga 2:
Cova de Piedade vs Penafiel
Academico Viseu vs Chaves
Varzim vs Feirense
Spanish Primera Liga:
Atletico Madrid vs Elche
Barcelona CF vs Valencia CF
Levante CF vs Real Sociedad
CA Osasuna vs Villarreal CF
Sevilla CF vs Real Valladolid
Swiss Super League:
Young Boys Bern vs Lugano
FC Basel vs St. Gallen
Swiss Challenge League:
Aarau vs FC Thun
Turkish Super Lig:
Goztepe vs Hatayspor
Trabzonspor vs Rizespor
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Kasimpasa
Gazisehir Gaziantep vs Fenerbahce
Enjoy your free betting tips!