Nantes vs RC Lens Prediction: The Stade de la Beaujoire curse will hold.

RC Lens got the much-needed win in their last game against Toulouse after a difficult run of back-to-back defeats in the 2 games prior. Despite the win, they are far off their mark and a team of their quality should be in the European Competition debate, but at the moment, they find themselves just outside the zone by a single point. RC Lens are dreaming of a comeback as they prepare to take on Nantes, who are also fighting for their lives. Nantes won their last match last year against OGC Nice and since then they have been involved in 5 league games without a single win. Both clubs will fight for a win in this game as both clubs eye a better position than they are already in at the moment.

Nantes

A good season for Nantes would mean they avoid the drop at the end of the season. But at the moment, they are far from realizing that objective. Nantes have lost 4 of their last 5 league matches and managed to draw 1. Those 5 defeats were against PSG (A), Stade Brest (H), Olympique Lyon (A), Clermont Foot (H). And they played a goalless draw with Stade Reims in their last match. 

Nantes performance was unconvincing once again in the game against Stade Reims last weekend despite having a record of 51% possession, 5 shots on target and 2 corner kicks throughout the game. Florent Mollet was arguably the standout player for Nantes in the disappointing draw. The midfielder has 4 goals and 3 assists so far for Nantes. He had 4 shots on target, a pass accuracy of 92% and provided 2 key passes in the game.

Nantes are in 13th place on the league table, with 19 points from 5 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats this season. 

RC Lens

RC Lens will be hoping to build on the win against Toulouse in their last match. It was a relief to end the back-to-back defeats they suffered against OGC Nice and PSG the weeks before. Now, they face Nantes who are struggling at the moment and RC Lens intends to capitalize.

Lens have 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats in their last 5 league matches. Both wins came against Stade Reims and Toulouse, and they drew against Montpellier, before losing to Nice and PSG.

They put up a dominant display in the 2-0 win over Toulouse last weekend. David Pereira da Costa scored the first goal in the 42nd minute and Andy Diouf doubled the lead in the 55th minute to help Lens get all 3 points. They also had 47% possession, 5 shots on target and 7 corner kicks in the match. Andy Diouf was arguably the best player for Lens on the night. The 20-year old midfielder scored his first goal of the league campaign against Toulouse. He also had 3 shots on target, 3 out of 4 successful dribbles and 4 key passes in the game.

RC Lens are currently 8th on the table, with 29 points from 8 wins, 5 draws and 6 defeats. They are level on points with Marseille and 1 point behind Reims in 6th place.

Head to Head

In the head-to-head battle, in 20 matches RC Lens have won 8 matches, while Nantes won 7 matches and they both drew 5 matches.

Expert Analysis and Predictions

Matches between both clubs have produced the following stats: Nantes failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 3 meetings, in 6 out of their last 7, more than 2.5 goals were scored. Both clubs scored in 7 of their last 9 meetings, 4 of their last 5 meetings ended with less than 4.5 cards shown and they played less than 10.5 corners in 9 of their last 10 meetings.

It is also important to note that RC Lens have not beaten Nantes at the Stade de la Beaujoire since 2021. 

• Nantes to take Over 4 Corners at 1.67 Odds
• Away Win or Draw and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.61 Odds
• Draw FT at 3.30 Odds