Nice – Reims : Preview & Prediction
Nice’s surprise defeat in the Coupe de France to minnows Le Puy-en-Velay in January unexpectedly revived their season, as they fired Lucien Favre after that loss, and have since gone unbeaten in six consecutive Ligue 1 matches (G5, E1), following a 3-0 win last Friday against Ajaccio. They are now the league’s most in-form team in the last six rounds and have climbed back into contention for European competition spots.
Interim coach Didier Digard is only 36 years old, but after masterminding that surprising upturn, he should have a chance to earn the job on a permanent basis, especially after guiding Nice to three straight home league wins and giving up an average of 3.33 goals scored per game. Surprisingly, however, he is something of a veteran in the technical area in this clash against Reims.
Their coach, Will Still, is only 30 years old and has been instrumental in their current 15-game unbeaten run in the league (G6, E9), which means that Reims will probably be content to continue paying a fine of €25,000 per game, due to the fact that they do not yet have a UEFA Pro license. Arguably, beating Nice who are four points above them would be worth it, as they have not beaten the Riviera side since August 2018 (E6, P2).
Reims have failed to score in any of their last three visits here (E2, P1), but Still has made them one of the toughest teams to beat in the division, even with a remarkable 1-1 draw at home to PSG being part of an eight-game unbeaten run away from home in Ligue 1 (G1, E7). However, the last seven of those games produced fewer than 2.5 goals, so if they get a positive result, it might not be exciting.
Players to watch: Billal Brahimi has scored three goals in Nice’s last two games, both times closing the scoring after the 80th minute. Folarin Balogun’s performance has caught the world’s attention, as he is now Ligue 1’s top scorer with 15 goals after scoring five times in his last four league appearances, four of them after halftime.
Fast Fact: No team in Europe’s top five leagues has drawn more league games than Reims this season (12).
Nice – Reims : Betting Tips
Nice – Win Odds: 2.25
