Soccer Picks

OGC Nice vs. RC Lens 8/23/20 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

OGC Nice vs. RC Lens 8/23/20 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction
2020-08-23 11:00:00 EDT

OGC Nice is welcoming RC Lens to Allianz Rivera in round 1 in French Ligue 1.

Nice was one of the better teams a few seasons ago in Ligue 1, but their quality has been declining over the last season, but despite that, Nice was pretty high in the standings, in 5th place with 41 points, and they will be playing in the Europa League this season. Defensively, Nice wasn’t playing well, and they conceded 38 goals, but their offense was one of the best in the league with 41 scored goals. The preseason started early for Nice, back in early July, and in the 8 friendly games Nice has played, they have 3 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw, but the good news is that Nice failed to score a goal in only 2 of those 8 games. There are no injuries or suspensions in Nice at the moment. Nice was active on the market and they have signed a few good players, from which probably the most notable is Morgan Schneiderlin from Everton, a player that will certainly be a huge help with his experience and quality. There aren’t any notable departures from the club. Nice has some great players in their roster, and they are an incredibly experienced team, but more importantly, Nice’s coach is Patrick Vieira, a French soccer legend, and one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. I think Nice is a good team, and they will be a real threat to one of the top 5 spots in Ligue 1.

Lens is the newcomer to Ligue 1, but they are going through relegation and promotion pretty often, and Ligue 1 is nothing new for Lens. Last season in Ligue 2, Lens has ended the season in second place with 53 points, and one of the best defenses on the league with only 24 conceded goals. In the preseason, Lens wasn’t playing well, and they have only 2 wins, alongside 2 draws, and 3 losses, but they have scored at least 1 goal in all of those games while keeping one clean sheet. There are no injuries or suspensions in Lens as of right now. Lens has invested in their roster in the offseason, and they have signed Fofana from Udinese for 10 million, and Ganago from Nice for 6 million. There were a few players that left the club for free or on loan, but all of the important players are still at the club. Lens can get pretty competitive, but being a newcomer is always hard. There are some teams in Ligue 1 that are below average quality, but Lens is not one of those teams, and I expect them to secure the Ligue 1 status without much trouble.

The trends are actually on Lens’ side, but Nice has not lost to Lens while playing at home in their last 4 games. I think Nice is the better team here, and I will side with the home team in the first game of the season.

Goran Kucar's Free Pick: Nice +100

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Goran Kucar

I was born and raised in Croatia, and with that, I was raised with soccer all around me. I love playing soccer, watching soccer, and now I love writing and handicapping soccer at PickDawgz and SportsChatPlace.

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