Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. OGC Nice 10/22/20 UEFA Europa League Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Bayer 04 Leverkusen is welcoming OGC Nice to BayArena in round 1 in the UEFA Europa League.

Leverkusen still hasn’t lost any of their games in Bundesliga this season, but they have 3 draws in their first 4 games. Leverkusen is in 9th place in the standings with 6 points, 3 scored goals, and 2 conceded goals. In their latest Bundesliga game against Mainz on the road, Leverkusen has had 62% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 2 corner kicks, and a solid 86% of the correct passes. With 1 scored goal in the first half, Leverkusen has won this match 0-1. Paulinho, Schick, Arias, and Wirtz are all injured for Leverkusen. Schick, Demirbay, and Alario have each scored 1 goal for Leverkusen so far this season. Bender, Bailey, and Wirtz have each added 1 assist. Leverkusen is a decent team, but they don’t have the depth to compete in 2 big competitions. I can see Leverkusen ending Bundesliga in the top 6, and they have the quality to advance past the group stage in the Europa League, but I don’t think we can expect much more from Leverkusen unless they sign some reinforcements during the winter transfer window.

Nice has been doing well in the French Ligue 1, and they are in 4th place with 13 points. Offensively, Nice has been good so far with 10 scored goals, but their defense has to improve because Nice has conceded 9 goals in 7 games. Dolberg is the only injured player for Nice at this time. Gouiri is the best player for Nice with 3 goals and 2 assists in Ligue 1 so far. In their latest Ligue 1 match against Saint-Etienne on the road, Nice has had 54% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 3 corner kicks, 4 big chances created, and 81% of the correct passes. Nice was leading 0-2 at half time, but Saint-Etienne cut that lead in half in the 57th minute. In the 91st minute, Nice has scored another goal, and they have won this match 1-3. Nice is a good team, better than last season, but their defense is not doing so well. As far as the Ligue 1 goes, Nice has the quality to stay in the top 6, but the competition this season is strong in Ligue 1, and Nice will need to get a hold of their defense as soon as possible. In the Europa League, Nice has a good chance to end in one of the top two spots, and to advance to the next stage of this competition.

Leverkusen and Nice have never played against each other in the past, and while Nice’s defense suck, Leverkusen’s offense is equally bad. I don’t think we will see a lot of goals here because Leverkusen is playing well on the defensive end. I will give this a shot at a draw.