French Football Tips: Monaco’s Falcao can be nasty but Nice

JULIEN LAURENS knows his Eiffel Tower from his London Eye.

He is a London-based sports correspondent for Le Parisien and a veritable French football expert. He writes in French and English for a number of esteemed publications and appears on BT Sport's European Football Show every Sunday as well as contributing to unibet.

Here are he previews the French Ligue 1 game of the weekend and tomorrow will look at Lyon Guingamp and Marseille v Rennes.

Nice v Monaco (4pm)

This is the big clash of the weekend in Ligue 1. Two weeks after a first Mediterranean derby at home against Marseille who they beat 6-1, Monaco play another away at Nice on Saturday afternoon

It is another tough game for the French champions. They destroyed l’OM in their last match but Nice at home should be a tougher proposition.

The away side have had a perfect start of the season with four wins in four league matches. They have lost Kylian Mbappé to PSG since the Marseille match but strengthened their squad too, with the signings of Stefan Jovetic and Keita Balde to replace the French prodigy.

Fabinho is also still at the club and it will be a very competitive Monaco side on Saturday. Their manager, Leonardo Jardim, wants his players to continue their season in the way it started and he hopes the international break has not halted the team’s momentum.

Radamel Falcao is in wonderful form. He has scored seven league goals already this season and also netted in midweek, with Colombia against Brazil! in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers. He should lead his team once again unless Jardim thinks he needs a rest so check team lines.

Nice battered Monaco last season at home (4-0) but prior to that match Monaco were doing well against their neighbours with only one loss in their last eight visits.

Unlike Monaco, Nice are really under pressure. Their start of the season has been poor with just one win and three defeats already! They are not playing well and their star players (Balotelli, Sneijder, Danté) are not performing. On top of that Lucien Favre was not happy with the lack of recruitment from the club who have added back Nampalys Mendy to the squad but failed with the recruitment of Hatem ben Arfa from PSG.

This is always a special game for Nice and their fans. They will still remember the demolition of Monaco last season with an outstanding Mario Balotelli the star. Dante is suspended for this game which is a huge blow and Malang Sarr is out injured. Balotelli is doubtful like Sneijder but it would be a big boost for Nice if they were to start.

I think Monaco are in better form and have more confidence than Nice at the moment so even away from home I see them win 2-1. I think Alassane Plea will score first and my best bet is Monaco to win and both teams to score.

Julien's Tips

• First scorer: Alessandre Plea (15-2, Unibet)
• Safe bet: Monaco win and both teams to score (23-10, Unibet)
•  Correct Score: Nice 1, Monaco 2 (7-1, Unibet)

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