Bayer Leverkusen v Nice Betting Tips [22 October 2020]

After two years Nice are back in the Europa League under Patrick Vieira after finishing 5th as the Ligue 1 season was called to an early end last season. The French side will travel to face German outfit Bayer Leverkusen who return to this level after slipping to a 5th place finish themselves in the Bundesliga. Peter Bosz is still at the helm and he will be quietly confident in a group consisting of Slavia Prague and Hapoel Be’er Sheva but a win in the opening game could prove pivotal to topping the pile.  

Die Werkself reached the heights of the Champions League last term but finished third in their group behind Atletico Madrid and Juventus and dropped down to the Europa League at the round of 32. Victories over Porto and Rangers across two legs led Leverkusen to the quarter-final stage where they were beaten by Inter Milan 2-1 in a one-off encounter. Nonetheless, Bayer Leverkusen come into this game unbeaten in five games since that defeat, three of which were draws, but the managed to get back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Mainz at the weekend. At home the German side defeated Porto and Rangers in their Europa League games last season and managed a win over Atletico Madrid at the BayArena during the Champions League group stage so they do have what it takes to defend themselves on the continent.  

As for Nice they make a return to the UEL after a two-year absence and their recent form puts them in with a good chance of picking something up from this game. Back-to-back wins were confirmed at the weekend as Nice stormed to a 3-1 win away from home over St Etienne to build on a 2-1 victory at home to Nantes before the international break. Nice are currently 4th in Ligue 1 after seven games and are unbeaten in three games with their win at the week their second in four away games so far this season.  

With the loss of Kai Havertz in the summer, Leverkusen have lost a huge portion of their goals from last season and that has been felt in the opening weeks of this campaign. Nice have managed to keep things tight early on their away matches so far and this is a step up but I think we will be looking at  a quiet first half and that's why I'm tipping under 1.5 goals to be scored in the opening 45 minutes of this game.