Stade Brest vs RC Lens Prediction: Don't expect fireworks on the opening day

Stade Brest and RC Lens will begin their 2023/24 Ligue campaign, playing against each other in the Stade Francis-Le Ble Stadium. Brest ended the previous campaign in 14th place with 44 points from 38 matches. They had 11 wins, 11 draws and 16 defeats last season. Jeremy Le Douaron ended the season with 10 goals for Stade Brest, while Franck Honorat had 6 assists last season.

RC Lens ended the season in 2nd place, with 84 points from 38 matches. They won 25 matches, drew 9 and lost 4 matches all season. Luis Openda topped the goal charts with 21 goals and Florian Sotoca bagged 9 assists in that season.

Brest will be eager to start the season on a positive note and get all 3 points from this match. Brest played in 5 pre-season friendly games before the start of the campaign and they won 3, drew 1 and lost 1. In their first preseason game, they played against Avranches and won 2-0. They went on to win their second preseason game against Concarneau by 2 goals to 1 before falling to a 1-0 defeat against Rennes. Then they won 1-0 against Guingamp, before settling for a 1-1 draw with Cagliari in their last preseason friendly match.

Stade Brest have had a busy transfer window as they added 6 players to their rank. Mahdi Camara joined the club from Saint Etienne for €3m and Bradley Locko came in from Reims for €0.5m. Romain Ekani, Adrien Lebeau and Jonas Martin all came in for free from Reims, Waldhof and Lille, while Martín Satriano will be joining the team on a season long loan from Inter Milan. The Club also released 12 players from the roster ahead of the new season, with Franck Honorat heading to Borussia M’gladbach for a €8m fee.

Team Streak: Less than 2.5 goals (4/5), first to score (4/5), less than 4.5 cards (5/5), less than 10.5 corners (6/6).

RC Lens were one of the best teams last season, according to the statistics. They ended the season just 1 point behind PSG, with 84 points from 38 matches. They will be hoping they can keep the same momentum in the new season. RC Lens had a lot of time to prepare for the new season, as they played 7 matches in preseason and they had 2 wins, 4 draws and 1 defeat in those games. They had back-to-back draws against Dunkerque and Amiens. Then they won against Sochaux and Dijon. Then they played back-to-back draws against Wolfsburg and Torino and lost the final game against Manchester United.

Lens spent €30.4 million on transfers during the transfer window as they prepare for the new season. Andy Diouf tops the most expensive transfer after he completed a €14m move from Basel last month. Other players on the list include Angelo Fulgini (Mainz 05), Morgan Guilavogui (Paris), Óscar Cortés (Milonairos) and others. RC Lens also released 18 players from the club. Lois Openda completed a €43m move to RB Leipzig, while Seko Fofana moved to Al Nassr for €25.

Team streak: no wins (3), first to score (7/9), less than 4.5 cards (10/10).

Stade Brest and RC Lens have played 20 matches against each other in the past. Stade Brest won 8 matches, while RC Lens won 7 matches and 5 matches ended in a draw.

• RC Lens have not lost in the last 3 meetings.
• Stade Brest are without a clean sheet in the last 3 meetings.
• RC Lens are without a clean sheet in the last 13 meetings.
• Both teams scored in 5/7 meetings.
• There were less than 10.5 corners in 6/7 meetings.

It's a fresh season and both sides will be fighting to get back to competitive mode for the remainder of the season. Stade Brest had a more productive preseason game with 3 wins in 5 matches, while RC Lens only won 2 of their 7 preseason games. I expect both teams to slowly get into momentum and settle for a draw in this opening game of the season.

• Over 9 Corners at 1.90 Odds
• Second Half Over 1.5 Goals at 2.15 Odds
• Home Win or Draw at 1.904 Odds