Nice take on the visitors Lille in the round 1 match of French Ligue 1. The match will be played on Friday, August 11th at Allianz Riviera (Nice).
Last season, Nice failed to meet the expectations of the management and the money invested by sponsors, finishing only ninth in the French championship. However, they proved themselves as a strong and resilient team, occasionally delivering impressive performances. During the offseason, as always, there were changes in the squad of the Eagles: many players went on loans, many returned, and some were sold. Nevertheless, there weren't any significant losses of crucial importance, except perhaps for the sale of Delort, which could be considered as such (14 matches in Ligue 1, 6 goals). On the other hand, the reinforcements were much more substantial. Nice fully acquired Nigerian Terem Moffi from Lorient (12 goals for Lorient and 6 for Nice in the previous season). Additionally, Jeremy Bogá was acquired from Atalanta.
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Lille experienced much more squad losses during the offseason. In general, fans of the Dogues have become accustomed to important players leaving their team every year. Consequently, under the guidance of Paulo Fonseca, his players bid farewell to Timothy Weah (29 matches in Ligue 1), Jonathan Bamba (34 matches, 6 goals). Veteran José Fonte (31 matches, 1 goal) left the team, while André Gomes (26 matches, 3 goals) returned to the Premier League. Lille didn't become stronger compared to the previous season. In terms of the overall value of players, Les Dogues still lag behind Nice. Playing away from home has never been a strong suit of this team.
Indeed, Lille's main advantage in recent years has been their home matches. In the previous season, within Ligue 1, Lille gathered 43 points out of 67 at their home ground. On the road, this team is quite vulnerable and can drop points even in matches against lower-ranked teams. Nice, on the other hand, is a solid mid-table team (for now), but with ambitions to at least compete for a European qualification spot. I believe that on their home turf, under the guidance of Didier Deschamps, the Eagles have the ability to take points from Lille and secure at least a draw. Additionally, in the previous season, the Eagles defeated Lille twice in the championship: 1-0 and 2-1. My prediction for this match is 1X.
Prediction for the match: Nice not to lose (1X).
