Saturday's Ligue 1 and Bundesliga predictions and free football tips

Best bets

Nantes or draw double chance v Lens
TNT Sports 2, 8pm
1pt 7-5 Betfair, Paddy Power

Stuttgart to beat Hoffenheim 2.30pm
2pts 10-11 bet365

Saturday's European football predictions

Lens head into Saturday's clash with Nantes unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions but they have won just two Ligue 1 affairs as part of that run and punters should not rush to back them at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

The Blood and Gold have made a strong start to their maiden Champions League campaign this term, drawing with Sevilla and PSV either side of an eyecatching 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

But their continental involvement appears to have had a knock-on effect on their league performances, with the club lingering above the drop zone ahead of this weekend's action.

Nantes, meanwhile, have enjoyed a resurgent run since mid-September, recording wins over Clermont, Lorient, Strasbourg and Montpellier in four of their last five games.

They beat Lens en route to the French Cup final in March of last season and are worth a bet to avoid defeat when the sides square up on Saturday night.

Stuttgart have been the surprise package in Germany's Bundesliga this season and show no signs of slowing down heading into this weekend's clash with Hoffenheim.

After finishing in the relegation playoff position last term, Stuttgart have started the new season with seven wins from eight Bundesliga assignments to keep the pressure on Bayer Leverkusen at the summit.

The season is still in its early stages but Stuttgart are on course for at least a European berth and thumped a strong Union Berlin outfit 3-0 last time out.

In-form marksman Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring in that one, taking his league tally to 14 goals in eight games to break Robert Lewandowski's record for most goals to start a Bundesliga campaign.

A hamstring issue is set to sideline Guirassy this weekend but Stuttgart are more than the sum of their parts and they can see off Hoffenheim, who have lost two of their last three games.

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