Lille to Confirm Return to Form

At the same time, they qualified in the Champions League knockout stages after an impressive campaign, finishing top of their group with just one defeat in six games.

They have a difficult task in the Round of 16 as they face Chelsea in a doubleheader tie, with the first match being played on the road at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately, they could have their UCL second leg clash against Chelsea moved to a neutral venue following France’s new Covid regulations.

Lille is sitting eight in Ligue 1 with 28 points earned in 19 games, five points behind the first UCL spot occupied by Marseille. They enter this clash as heavy favorites at -180 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds. At home, they lost just one in nine games while scoring 11 goals in the process.

Despite scoring just one goal, Lille star and playmaker Renato Sanches signaled his return to form, following a long and frustrating lean spell since his spectacular rise.

He’s a highly creative player who possesses a great pace, quick change of direction and strength on the ball. He’s expected for the rest of the season together with striker Jonathan David, who’s on fire for his club. The Canadian international scored 10 goals in his last 13 appearances for Lille and has been linked with many Premier League top teams.

On the other side, Lorient is struggling to find the back of the net, having the worst attack in the league with just 15 goals netted in 19 games. They are winless on the road, losing six of their 10 away games and conceding 22 goals.

Surprisingly, one of the three Lorient wins came in the reverse match when they won 2-1 in front of their fans. The visitors lost nine of their previous 11 domestic games and failed to find the back of the net on six occasions.

Lille is one of the teams to include in your soccer picks and parlays in the second half of the season and this should be an easy victory for the hosts.

Pick: Lille -1 (-105)

Brest vs. Nice: Value on Visitors

Christophe Galtier was no stranger to French football when he took over OGC Nice earlier this season. He brilliantly won the league with Lille last season and, under his guidance, Saint-Etienne finished in the top half of the table for seven consecutive seasons. Four of those seasons ended with a qualification in the European competitions.

Galtier’s arrival brought much-needed change at Nice from game philosophy to ambitious objectives. He changed the style to 4-3-3, signing important players last summer.

The attacking duo of Kasper Dolberg and Andy Delort have contributed more than half of Nice’s goals. The visitors are sitting second in the standings with 33 points, 13 behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

They finished 2021 in style winning two games in a row against Rennes, one of their direct opponents for the Champions League spots and Lens, which is above Brest in the table.

They are one of the most consistent teams in France, very organized at the back and superb going forward. They have the second-best defense in the league with just 17 goals allowed in the first half of the season.

Nice won the reverse match 2-1 on home soil and we expect them to return home with at least one point from this clash. If you’re betting online, you should know that we are always offered great prices on Nice and we should take advantage of that.

On the other side, Brest is not a bad team at all. They won six games in a row, keeping three clean sheets, before losing to Montpellier in December.

They finished 2021 with a 1-1 draw against Troyes and they are one of the teams to watch if you want to enjoy games packed with everything. They have goals in them, and we expect them to contribute on the scoreboard. We will sprinkle a small stake on an away win, but for this parlay we will keep it simple and go with the goals’ market.

Pick: Over 2½ goals (-115)