Lille OSC vs. OGC Nice 8/14/21 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Lille OSC is welcoming OGC Nice to Stade Pierre Mauroy in round 2 of the French Ligue 1. Lille is last season’s champion, but they have failed to win their first game of this season last week. Nice is not a bad team, but they haven’t won any of their last 7 games, including their season opener last week.

Lille will be playing in the Champions League this season, but that doesn’t mean they will allow themselves to get sloppy in Ligue 1. In their season opener against Metz on the road, Lille was the better team with 62% of ball possession, 6 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and a solid 81% of the correct passes. After getting ahead in the 23^rd minute, Lille got sloppy, and they conceded 3 goals. Luckily for Lille, Metz conceded a red card in the 56^th minute, and that was enough for Lille to tie the score. This game has ended in a 3-3 draw. Botman and Ikone have each scored 1 goal for Lille in round 1. Djalo, Xeka, and Gomes are all injured, and they will miss this game. Lille has kept all of their winners from last season, and they will certainly give it their all to defend the title, but they need to take it step by step.

Nice has ended last season 9^th place with 52 points, which means they will not be playing in any of the European competitions. In the preseason, Nice was terrible with only 1 win in 6 games, and they also failed to get all 3 points in Ligue 1 last week. Nice was hosting Reims in their season opener, and they were dominant with 61% of ball possession, 2 shots on goal, 4 corner kicks, 1 big chance created, and 86% of the correct passes. Despite all of their chances, Nice was ineffective in this game, and it ended in a 0-0 draw. Claude-Maurice, Schneiderlin, Guessand, Trouillet, and Stengs are all injured, while Dolberg is still questionable for this game. Nice is definitely capable of having a much better season than the last one, but their start of this season wasn’t encouraging, and Nice will need to play much better in the attacking end if they want to qualify for the Europa League next season.

Neither of these two teams is in great form, but Lille hasn’t lost to Nice in their last 3 home games. Lille is ambitious in defending their title, and they really need to stay in good form ahead of the Champions League. With all the injuries Nice has, and with Lille needing a win here, I’m taking Lille at home.