Nice vs PSG

Out-of-sorts Ligue 1 holders PSG head to the Allianz Riviera to meet European hopefuls Nice in an exciting league match-up.

After an underwhelming 1-1 draw at dead-last Angers last time out condemned them to a fourth straight Ligue 1 match without a win (D4), Nice’s bid to secure European placings hangs by a thread. With fifth-placed Lille now seven points away, ‘Les Aiglons’ are desperate to return to winning ways. However, after going from three straight home wins to start the new calendar year to three draws in their last three top-flight games at the Allianz Riviera, it’s rather far-fetched. Adding to this sentiment, Didier Digard’s men have only won three of their last 24 Ligue 1 H2Hs against PSG (D5, L16), though one of those triumphs came in this corresponding fixture in 2020/21 (1-0). Unbeaten in 14 competitive games in the lead-up to this clash (W8, D6), they might be aiming to repeat that success.

PSG’s awful run of form could hand Nice’s hopes of winning back-to-back home league H2Hs for the first time since 2010 a boost, with Christophe Galtier’s side losing their last two Ligue 1 games ‘to nil.’ Another scoring blank would see Paris go three successive top-flight matches without finding the net for the first time since 2007, and it’s not as impossible as it looks at first glance. With Lionel Messi’s future at the Parc des Princes hanging in the balance and Kylian Mbappe entering an open war with the club hierarchy, Galtier’s team may not relish their chances in southern France. Indeed, ‘Les Parisiens’ have suffered three defeats in their last five competitive away outings (W2), conceding 2+ goals in each loss.