Nice vs Lyon

Nice and Lyon are set to square off in a tasty-looking Ligue 1 encounter at the Allianz Riviera.

Nice’s life under new manager Francesco Farioli has been off to a rather slow start, as they dropped a narrow one-goal lead in both opening Ligue 1 matches, drawing 1-1 against Lille and Lorient, respectively. ‘Les Aiglons’ opened last season in identical fashion, though they’ll hope to get a victory on the board soon this year, having had to wait until matchday five to enter the win column in 2022/23. Another share of the spoils would see them start a new top-flight season with three consecutive draws for the first time since 1971/72. Despite off-field distractions related to their busted attempt to sign Lucas Digne, Nice should be confident about maintaining their unbeaten league start, having lost only twice in their last 16 Ligue 1 outings on home turf (W7, D7).

On the other hand, visiting Lyon finished an underwhelming 2022/23 Ligue 1 campaign with a dismal 3-1 defeat at none other than Nice on the final weekend. Unfortunately for manager Laurent Blanc, they’ve opened the new season equally poor, suffering a brace of losses to Strasbourg and Montpellier, 2-1 and 4-1, respectively. Prone to lapses in concentration in the latter stages, Blanc’s men conceded precisely two goals beyond the hour mark in both those defeats. Keen to recover from their first two-game start to a new top-flight campaign since 1966/67, Lyon will turn to their free-scoring form on the road, having netted on every Ligue 1 travel since January. However, finding the net may not be sufficient, as they’ve lost their last three away league games ‘to one.’