Nice and Lorient square off in a Friday night Ligue 1 fixture with both teams looking to snap out of difficult spells. Lorient have looked decent on their travels and with Nice a bit unconvincing at home, a stalemate could be on the cards here.
Sitting fifth on the Ligue 1 standings, Nice are in the mix for a European finish this season. However, they appear to have lost their way in recent times, claiming just one win from their last nine matches across all competitions.
Nice head into Friday’s clash off the back of a 0-0 draw at Reims in their previous Ligue 1 fixture. They failed to find their attacking verve in a keenly contested encounter, finishing with just three attempts on target.
It is a similar story for Nice at the Allianz Riviera as they are winless in their last four home matches. However, prior to that poor run, Francesco Farioli’s men had picked up six straight victories in front of their fans and will be looking to channel some of those performances on Friday.
While Nice’s troubles only just began, Lorient have found things difficult for much of the season. They are currently in the relegation zone but sitting two points from safety, could climb out of the bottom three if results go their way this weekend.
The problem for Lorient is that they have shown little fight in recent weeks, heading into Friday’s clash winless in their last four matches. Regis Le Bris’ men suffered a 2-0 defeat at Montpellier in their previous Ligue 1 fixture.
The strange thing about Lorient’s recent form is that the defeat at Montpellier was their first in five away matches. They claimed three wins in that run, with a 2-1 victory at Rennes among their results.
How the bookies view it
Nice have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/15 by BoyleSports. A victory for Lorient is valued at 6/1 by Unibet while a draw is set at odds of 10/3 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
Nice have a 15-8 advantage with 13 draws from 36 previous matches against Lorient. However, the last two meetings have ended in draws with both teams battling to a 1-1 scoreline in the reverse fixture back in August.
Players to watch
Terem Moffi is the leading scorer for Nice this season with 10 Ligue 1 goals and will be the one to watch on Friday. The Nigerian striker also has three goals in the last five matches and is priced at 6/4 with bet365.
Given Nice’s defensive problems, Lorient will look to Mohamed Bamba to provide the spark in attack. The striker has six Ligue 1 goals this season and is priced at 4/1 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Friday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Nice and Lorient have quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 11/10 by Paddy Power. Three of Nice’s last four matches have produced over 2.5 goals, which is priced at evens with William Hill while Paddy Power is offering over 13/5 for over 3.5 goals.
There were more goals after the break in the reverse fixture and a similar pattern is priced at 23/20 by William Hill.
This French Ligue 1 match between Nice and Lorient will be played on Apr 19, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nice vs Lorient prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
