Nice vs Montpellier

Nice vs Montpellier

An all-Ligue 1 exhibition match on Spanish soil pits Montpellier and Nice against each other.

Montpellier spent most of last season languishing in the Ligue 1 lower reaches but eventually secured top-flight survival without breaking a sweat, finishing a whopping 15 points clear of 17th-placed Auxerre. ‘La Paillade’ also signed off in style with a scintillating 3-1 romping of Reims on the final weekend. Michel Der Zakarian’s men have picked up where they left off at the start of their pre-season, trouncing fellow French rivals Toulouse 3-1 in their opening summer friendly despite falling behind within the first 20 minutes of play. On top of their recent purple patch, Montpellier have been extremely fun to watch, as their last four matches have produced over 2.5 goals, with three seeing both teams on the scoresheet.

On the other hand, Nice’s hefty investments in last summer’s transfer window failed to pay dividends, as they never came close to contesting other European hopefuls in a thoroughly disappointing 2022/23 Ligue 1 season. A below-par 9th-place finish spell the end of Didier Digard’s managerial tenure at the Allianz Riviera as Francesco Farioli assumed the reins in June. Farioli’s touchline debut was an unmitigated disaster, with Nice succumbing to a woeful 3-1 defeat to Swiss outfit Laussane. That result also means that their last three matches have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring, underlining the potential for an action-packed encounter.