Early Season Derbies Spice Things up in France and Belgium
Published August 30, 2020 by Florin P
Genk and Brugge try to return to their winning ways after slow season starts, while Lille and Marseille play their first Ligue 1 away matches this season.
It is once again time for the top European championships to shine after the Europa League and Champions League reached their inevitable conclusions. France and Belgium are in the spotlight this weekend, with some of the most exciting matches being scheduled in the Jupiler League and Ligue 1. Former champions play early-season derbies that could shape their fortunes in the months to come.
Genk and Brugge Try to Mend Poor Season Start
Genk and Brugge are nowhere within the podium and that’s because of a disappointing season start. Draws and narrow margin defeats suffered at the hands of weaker opponents have pushed them further down the standings. Now they face each other in the most anticipated match of the weekend, which is set to begin at 12:30 PM UK time. With no spectators in the standings, home pitch advantage matters less and Brugge are priced at 13/10 by bet365 Sports, whereas Genk get are the 9/5.
Reims and Lille Prepare for a Likely Draw on Sunday
Reims and Lille play in the first match of the day in the French first division, which will be played at noon on an empty stadium. These two teams have a tradition in splitting points regardless of venue and they started the season with low-scoring draws. This match could also end undecided, with Reims likely to play defensive football, whereas Lille is a poor traveling team. 888 Sport offers identical odds of 2/1 on a home win and a draw, while offering 3/2 to punters willing to back the visiting team.
Brest Players Brace for 90 Minute Siege against Marseille
Marseille play in the last match of the day on the road against a team they barely defeated last season. A narrow margin victory over Brest was all they could accomplish, but such an outcome would be regarded as a success this time around. That’s because the match is played on the road and Marseille simply needs a win to kickstart their season in a positive way. The campaign of friendly games met their expectations, so they are likely to stick to the same offensive football, whereas the hosts will defend with all lines.
Disclaimer:
The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Tuesday, August 25 at 12 pm UK time.
