- 1 Angers vs Lille: first test for Davide Ancelotti against a rebuilding SCO
- 2 Angers: survival mission starts with a young squad
- 3 Lille: eyes on the Champions League, but an attack hit hard
- 4 Ligue 1 prediction Angers vs Lille
- 5 First of all, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information that can change
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Angers vs Lille: first test for Davide Ancelotti against a rebuilding SCO 
Stade Raymond-Kopa opens its doors on Sunday 23 August at 15:00 for the first round of Ligue 1. Angers host a Lille side coming into the season with far bigger ambitions.
SCO finished last season in 13th, and they did it the hard way. Sixteen defeats in 34 league games and a nine-match winless run to close out the campaign told the story of a fragile team.
The club have changed course in the dugout, handing the job to Stephane Gilli, who was in charge of Paris FC until last winter. Alexandre Dujeux has left Anjou.
Lille arrive in a completely different frame of mind after finishing third, ahead of Marseille and Lyon. That place has booked them a spot in the Champions League, a target the club have been chasing for several seasons.
LOSC have also made a major change, with Davide Ancelotti taking over from Bruno Genesio. Carlo Ancelotti’s son is now into his second spell as a head coach after years as an assistant.
Both clubs have, in short, ripped up the script on the touchline. That kind of reset tends to show up most clearly on the opening weekend.
The bookmakers are making no secret of their view here. A Lille win is priced around 1.60 to 1.67, while Angers are out at 4.65 to 5.10, with the away side given a 59% chance of success.
Recent meetings point the same way and give the hierarchy extra weight. Lille are unbeaten in the last four meetings between the clubs, scoring six and conceding none.
Angers: survival mission starts with a young squad 
Angers ended last season without a win in their final nine games. That run left scars and goes a long way to explaining the summer shake-up.
Sixteen defeats in 34 matches also say plenty about the defensive flaws in the squad. Survival is, quite rightly, the only real target now.
Pre-season began with a 3-1 win over Les Herbiers, then a game against Creteil. SCO then faced three Ligue 1 clubs in early August in Le Mans, Lorient and Paris FC.
That schedule gave Stephane Gilli a chance to size up a squad he was only just getting to know. He has not had much time to impose his ideas, though.
Angers have not gone wild in the market. The most notable arrival is goalkeeper Lopes, signed from Nantes, who should take over as No 1 after Koffi’s departure.
Van den Boomen stayed at the club after his loan from Ajax, which at least gives midfield some continuity. It is one of the few familiar points in the middle of the pitch.
The exits, meanwhile, have piled up, with loans for El Ouazzani to Braga and Bermont to Lens. Cherif, who scored 4 last season, was kept by Fenerbahce.
Veterans Capelle and Bamba have retired, while Hanin has moved to Nea Salamis in Cyprus. Koyalipou has also returned to Lens after a disappointing spell.
Injury-wise, attacking midfielder Mouton remains a doubt for the restart. His creativity would be badly missed by a team that already struggles to create much.
The brighter news is the expected return of Belkhdim, Djbirin and Peter, all of whom were sidelined at the back end of last season. Peter, with 5 goals, is one of the few clear attacking threats in the side.
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Lille: eyes on the Champions League, but an attack hit hard 
Lille finished third in Ligue 1 last season, ahead of Marseille and Lyon. That makes LOSC one of the safer bets in the division.
They also reached the last 16 of the Europa League. That double run explains the appetite around this restart.
Pre-season has been solid, with a comfortable 3-0 win over La Louviere, followed by matches against Union Saint-Gilloise, Louvain and Everton. The signs have been promising, if not exactly bulletproof.
Davide Ancelotti is slowly putting his stamp on a squad still built for the top end of the table. Managing a group used to juggling two competitions will be one of the big jobs this season.
The main issue for Lille is up front, where the injury list is grim. Igamane, who scored 9 last year, and defender Toure are both long-term absentees.
Olivier Giroud, who netted 11 last season, picked up a knock in last Saturday’s friendly and remains a doubt. His presence in the box changes the whole attack.
Fernandez-Pardo, involved in 15 goals last term, is also suspended. Ancelotti is therefore missing three of his four main sources of goals.
He can at least lean on Haraldsson, who was involved in 16 goals last season, to drive the attack. The Icelander looks the key man on Sunday.
Midfield is still a strength, with Bouaddi and Andre expected to start. That base often allows LOSC to control games even when they are not at their best.
The defence has also been reshaped after Meunier’s move to Sunderland, Mandi’s switch to Levante and Mbemba leaving on a free. Srdanovic, signed from Servette, and Nianzou, brought in from Sevilla, have arrived to fill the gaps.
Turkish winger Onal, signed from Nijmegen, is reported fit and could bring some thrust. Against an Angers back line that can be got at, that could matter.
Probable Angers line-up: Not available at the time of publication.
Probable Lille line-up: Not available at the time of publication.
Ligue 1 prediction Angers vs Lille
Our prediction: Lille to win
The balance of power between these two sides has been clear for several seasons. Lille are unbeaten in the last four meetings, scoring six and conceding none in that run.
Lille do have real attacking absences with Igamane, Fernandez-Pardo and a doubtful Giroud, but Angers finished last season with nine games without a win. SCO have also lost Cherif, one of their few reliable finishers.
Haraldsson, involved in 16 goals last season, has exactly the kind of profile to punish an Angers defence that was beaten 16 times last year. At 1.64, a Lille win is still the smartest play on Sunday.
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