OGC Nice vs. Olympique Lyonnais 10/24/21 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

OGC Nice is welcoming Olympique Lyonnais to Allianz Riviera in round 11 of the French Ligue 1. Nice has been doing surprisingly well so far this season if you ask me, and that is thanks to their defense that has conceded only 5 goals so far. Lyon is slowly finding their form, and they are now undefeated in their last 6 games while riding a 2-game winning streak.

With 16 points, 17 scored goals, and only 5 conceded goals, Nice is now in 6^th place in the standings, but they also have 2 games less than Nantes and Angers ahead of them. Nice has lost 2 of their last 7 games, and they failed to score a goal in both of those losses. In their latest game against Troyes on the road, Nice was the dominant team with 62% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 3 corner kicks, 0 big chances created, and a solid 87% of the correct passes. Despite all the possession and control they had, Nice wasn’t able to score a goal here, and they ended up losing this game 1-0. Gouiri has been the best player for Nice with 5 goals and 2 assists, while Dolberg added 4 goals. Bambu and Kluivert are both injured and will miss this game. After their latest loss, Nice will do everything to get back on track, but this will be a hard game, and they will need their defense stable once again.

Lyon was playing in the Europa League earlier this week against Sparta Prague on the road, and even though their defense was sloppy, their offense took the load off. Lyon was the better team overall with 57% of ball possession, 8 shots on goal, 1 corner kick, 6 big chances created, and 83% of the correct passes. After losing 2-0 in the 19^th minute, Lyon’s offense started working, and it paid off. Lyon has completely turned this game around by the 67^th minute, while they conceded a red card in the 74^th minute. In the 88^th minute, Lyon has scored another goal, while Sparta scored a consolation goal in the 96^th minute. Lyon has won this game 3-4. In Ligue 1, Lyon is in 7^th place with 16 points, 16 scored goals, and 13 conceded goals, and they better improve their defense if they want to get further. Reine-Adelaide, Pintor, Dembele, and Slimani are all injured. Dembele and Paqueta have each scored 4 goals for Lyon so far this season. Lyon has the offense, they are producing a lot, but their defense is keeping them down, and that will be a big problem for them when playing in 2 competitions.

 Nice hasn’t lost any of their last 5 home games, and they are still undefeated at home this season. Lyon is in solid form, and they haven’t lost any of their last 6 games. On paper, this should be a great game with a lot of goals, but I don’t think it will. I see a battle here, and for that reason, I will take the under, something I don’t take often.