Lille vs Strasbourg Prediction & Betting Tips (21 September)

Very in good shape at the very start of the season, Losc booked themselves a ticket to the Champions League by knocking out Fenerbahce then Slavia Prague. This Lille team, on the other hand, got off to a bad start in this competition on Tuesday evening, losing quite logically on the grounds of Sporting CP 2-0 while showing itself to be fairly harmless. At the same time, Bruno Genesio's men had approached their first championship matches well, winning in Reims 0-2 then quite logically dominating Angers 2-0. On the other hand, the rest was more complicated for the Mastiffs who suffered their first setback of the season against PSG 1-2. More annoying, the Northerners were surprised on the Saint-Etienne field last week and they were never able to come back despite great 1-0 opportunities.

Under the American flag for over a year now, Strasbourg would like to establish itself as one of the teams that counts in the elite, capable, why not, of applying for a European ticket. Now guided by Liam Rosenior who replaced Patrick Vieira, the Alsatians lack a little consistency at the start of the season. Hanging against Montpellier 1-1, they then showed seriousness to defeat Rennes 3-1 before falling at the end of a crazy match at Lyon 4-3 during which they still led by 2 goals. Last Sunday, Racing, on the other hand, sinned by failing to get the better of the promoted Angevin team 1-1 during a game generally in their favor.

Unsurprisingly, Losc will not be able to count on the services of midfielder Bentaleb, defender Umtiti and the important Ismaily. Bruno Génésio also deplores the loss of Icelandic international Haraldsson and young midfielders Mukau and Ethan Mbappé. Not registered to play in the Champions League, former Portuguese international André Gomes will however be available for this match. This will also be the case for Canadian international Jonathan David (3 goals in all competitions this season including 1 in Ligue 1) and Zhegrova (3 goals in the Champions League qualifiers). Both men should undoubtedly be starters. Racing must also do without a few elements for this poster.

Last year's goalkeeper Belaarouche, full-back Delaine, striker Sahi Dion (3 goals last season) and young Lukovic (18 years old) are still too tight for this match. Summer recruit Wiley, who was ruled out last week, is expected to apply for a place in the squad. The Alsatian attackers are in good shape at the start of the season, like the young Dutchman Emegha who scored 2 goals in 4 days and who hit the post last week. Also watch out for Swedish recruit Nanasi who has also crashed twice since his arrival. It was he who opened the scoring against Angers, well served by Bakwa (2 assists).