The top two teams in Group K go head to head, with both putting a 100% winning record on the line, as Nice take on Lazio in the UEFA Europa League.
UEFA Europa League – Group K – Thursday 19th October – 18:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 23/10 at Sky bet |
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Nice
LazioNice Form
Nice are playing like a different team in Europe to what they are domestically. In this competition, they have played two, won two, scoring eight goals and conceding just one. This is a different story to their form in the French league, where they have lost five of nine matches and sit fourteenth in Ligue 1.
Despite showing their potential in a 4-0 win over Monaco in September, they have lost their last two and failed to win in three league matches. It’s concerning form for a team who had ambitions of challenging at the top end of the table again, after their third placed finish last season.
Regardless of what happens in France, they will be fancied to do well in this competition if they can continue the form that saw them beat Zulte Waregem 5-1 and Vitesse 3-0.
Lazio Form
A 2-1 away win at Italian champions Juventus made it four wins on the bounce, in all competition, for Lazio. They have lost just once this season, to Napoli in the league last month, and are showing themselves to be serious title contenders both domestically and in Europe.
In this competition, they had to fight back from behind to pick up a 3-2 win in Vitesse but followed that with a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to Zulte. Sitting second in Group K, on goal difference, the Italian side will be determined to pick up all three points to put themselves on the verge of making it through to the next stage.
Head to Head
These sides have never met in a competitive fixture, so the only head to head information available came from a friendly match played in 2013.
Nice were the home side in that match but Lazio picked up a 1-0 victory.
It was over four years ago, and a non-competitive meeting, so that result should have no bearing on the outcome of this match.
Betting Odds and Predictions
This is another match where the betting odds are closely matched, and with good reason considering the form of both sides in this competition so far.
Nice are 8/5 for the victory with Sky Bet, which makes them a narrow favourite. Lazio are priced at 17/10, and the draw is at 23/10.
This is a tough one to call, so punters must consider domestic form in picking a winner here. Although Nice have slightly better results in this competition, Lazio have just beaten last season’s Champions League runners-up and defending Italian league champions.
For that reason, and the confidence a result like that can instil in a team, we must opt for a narrow away win.
Both sides are solid going forward, so the best bets should be found in goal markets.
Nice have scored in every one of their home games this season, and Lazio have netted in every match away, so backing Both Teams to Score looks a no-brainer at odds of 4/6.
In the four games involving these sides in this competition this season, there have been sixteen goals scored. That’s an average of four per game, so backing Over 2.5 Goals could be the way to go. This is priced at 10/11 and Over 3.5 Goals is 9/4 for punters who believe this will be a goal fest.
As we said before, this should be a close match with us believing Lazio are more likely to pick up the victory. Backing the visitors to win by a single goal is available at odds of 100/30, which we think is great value.
Top Betting Tip
Although we think Lazio will nick the victory in a close match here, our top betting tip is Both Teams to Score. This is available at odds of 4/6 with Sky Bet.