SATURDAY sees Bordeaux and Nantes lock horns in the first televised Ligue 1 showdown of the new season. Harley Dale (@HarIeeyy) analyses the encounter.
Bordeaux vs Nantes | Friday 21st August 2020, 18:00 | BT Sport
The Ligue 1 season commences in rare fashion, with teams following in the footsteps of other major European leagues by having to play behind closed doors. Nantes travel to Bordeaux this Friday evening to kick things off with both teams hoping to improve on their final standings last season, finishing 12th and 13th respectively.
Aside from PSG, Ligue 1 has been notorious for its low-scoring games in recent years, particularly when you compare the stats to other continental divisions – the French top-flight averaged just 2.52 goals per-game last term compared to 3.04 in Serie A and 3.21 in the Bundesliga.
Therefore it comes as no surprise to see that both of these sides struggle to hit the back of the net. Despite Bordeaux hitting 18th-placed Nîmes for six, Les Girondins managed a mediocre 19 goals in their 13 home league matches last term.
Similarly, Nantes averaged just one goal per-game across their 28 league matches – a figure which is simply considered below-par for any club looking to compete in the top half.
There has been very little activity in the transfer market to convince me that these figures will change. With both sides desperately needing some new acquisitions to provide some firepower, it seems the duo will continue where they left off.
Despite Nantes finding it difficult to hit the back of the net, it is evident that they enjoy performing on the road more than at home – scoring over 60% of their goals away. Furthermore, Les Canaris racked up an average of 5.14 corners in these matches, the fourth-most in the league.
Conversely, Bordeaux tend to soak up mounts of pressure when hosting teams. Despite losing just four of their 13 home matches last season, including against Champions League finalists PSG, the hosts saw themselves rank top for corners conceded at home, giving away on average 6.62 per-game.
Given the nature of the league in terms of producing few goals, plus Bordeaux’s habit to soak up pressure, I’m happy to back Under 4 Goals, Under 2 First-Half Goals and Nantes 4+ corners at 20/23 as a Bet Builder (Bet365)
Bordeaux lost the corner count in nine of their 13 home matches last season so I’m also happy to back Nantes most corners at a palatable 13/8 (Bet365).
Best Bets
Bordeaux vs Nantes – Under 4 Goals, Under 2 First-Half Goals and Nantes Over 3 Corners (20/23 Bet365)
Bordeaux vs Nantes – Nantes to win Most Corners (13/8 Bet365)
