Lyon vs. Brest: Preview and betting tips

Ligue 1 will kick off on Friday, but Olympique Lyon will take to the field for the new 2021/22 season on Saturday when they welcome Brest, who had to fear relegation until the final minutes last season.

Brest did not have a good season at all and can thank Montpellier, who defeated Nantes in the last round, who subsequently had to play in the retention barrier.

However, one of the weakest teams in Ligue 1 is likely to struggle to stay in the top French league this season. But that will be something that new coach Michel Der Zakarian, who has tried to strengthen mainly the back line, will try to prevent.

The fourth-worst defensive unit from last season is thus set to score decidedly fewer goals than the 66. However, it did get the most offensive team from last year to start, which sent an average of 16.1 shots per game at the opponents’ goal.

However, Memphis Depay left Lyon in the summer and headed to Barcelona. Even so, the attack should definitely not be a weakness of Peter Bosz’s team, who, like his first opponent Zakarian, arrived this summer, on May 29 to be precise.

Moreover, it is important for Lyon that, at least up to this point, it has managed to keep a trio of talented footballers. Houssem Aouar, Lucas Paquetá and Bruno Guimaraes will once again be important links in the centre of midfield.

Olympique is again relying heavily on its young talents in particular, which Bosz, who has tremendous experience with young players, has pulled into the A-team. Of course, it is not yet certain who all will stay, but it is the education of young players that is top-notch in Lyon and traditionally produces great footballers.

In any case, Lyon have a very acceptable opponent to start the season. The question, of course, is what tactics will be used by the two new coaches. For the Dutch coach, there is no question, Zakarian will definitely opt for a more cautious style of play.

In the last five games, both teams have always managed to assert themselves and together 19 goals have been scored. So a bet on Over 3.25 should be a good choice. Both teams have scored a lot of goals in the build-up and Saturday should be no different.