Reigning Ligue 1 champions Monaco make the short trip to Nice this weekend, with the two teams having made drastically different starts to the new campaign. However, despite their poor form of late, Nice did not finish third in the table last time around for nothing, with their form at the Allianz Riviera making this an extremely exciting encounter.
Nice vs Monaco
French Ligue 1 – Allianz Riviera, Nice – Saturday 9th September – 16:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 13/5 at Ladbrokes |
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Nice
MonacoMatch Preview
Monaco will be looking to maintain their 100% winning start to the season against rivals Nice on Saturday evening, with Leonardo Jardim’s new look side hoping to keep up with PSG at the top of the standings. The pressure is certainly building on Nice boss Lucien Favre, with his team having won just won of their opening Ligue 1 match.
Nice Team News & Form
Defeats to St Etienne, Troyes and Amiens have left Nice just one position ahead of the relegation zone at this early stage of the season, with a visit from an in-form Monaco side hardly the ideal encounter for a side looking to return to winning ways. However, having managed to keep hold of Barcelona target Jean Michael Seri during the transfer window, Favre will be hoping that Nice can enjoy a change in fortunes over the coming weeks. Meanwhile, with Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder set to make the Nice starting eleven for the match, the home side could well have an increased attacking threat against Monaco. Alassane Pléa has two goals to his name already however, with the Frenchman looking to maintain his place in the side.
Monaco Team News & Form
Despite losing a substantial number of players over the summer, Ligue 1 champions Monaco have made an excellent start to the season, winning all of their opening four matches. Such successes include an emphatic 6-1 win over Marseille before the international break, meaning that they have now scored 14 goals already, conceding just 4. Youngster Kylian Mbappe departed the Stade Louis II on the final day of the transfer window, joining fierce rivals PSG, meaning that the emphasis will be on Radamel Falcao and Adama Diakhaby to produce goals for the team. Meanwhile, with the likes of Fabinho and Thomas Lemar in their team, Monaco still have a starting eleven that can overcome anyone on their day. Finally, Stevan Jovetic could make his debut for the club having signed from Inter Milan.
Head to Head
The two teams have a similar head-to-head record from encounters over the years, with Monaco having won 12 of their 28 fixtures, whilst Nice have come out on top on nine occasions. In the same fixture last season, Nice dominated Monaco to win 4-0 at the Allianz Riviera, however Leonardo Jardim’s men got their revenge at the Stade Louis II, winning 3-0.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Monaco are the favourites for victory with the majority of bookmakers, with best odds for the reigning champions of 8/11 found at Ladbrokes. Meanwhile, for those looking to back just a second win of the season for Nice, the same platform provides customers odds of 15/4. For those looking for a more specific bet, betting on Mario Balotelli to score and Nice winning 1-0 can be found at fantastic odds of 40/1.
Top Betting Tip
However, our top betting tip for the match is to back over 2.5 goals being scored, which can be found at odds of 8/13 at Ladbrokes.