Nice can stretch their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to 11 matches when they welcome Lorient to Allianz Riviera on Sunday.
After a 2-2 draw at Nantes last weekend, Les Aiglons are just four points behind Rennes for a spot in Europe next season, as are Lorient, who extended their unbeaten run to two games thanks to a 2-0 win over Troyes.
Match preview
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It was a big gamble for Nice to bring in a new manager with no top-flight experience at the beginning of the year, but the risk has paid off handsomely.
Last week, Didier Digard became just the second coach in club history to go unbeaten after 10 league fixtures, as his team extended their unbeaten run away from home to six matches in all competitions.
No team in Ligue 1 have accumulated more points over the last 10 domestic encounters than Nice, with Les Aiglons collecting a total of 22 over that stretch, the same as Reims and Paris Saint-Germain.
While his arrival as caretaker boss has been primarily positive, Le Gym squandered two advantages versus Nantes, as they failed to win a domestic encounter when opening the scoring for the first time since November 2022, while they conceded multiple goals in a match for the first time under Digard.
The defensive backline have looked nearly impenetrable at home throughout the year, posting three clean sheets in their last five matches in all competitions at Allianz Riviera.
They have had their way with Lorient in this competition, particularly on home soil, where Nice have won 69% of their top-flight fixtures versus Le FCL, the second-best winning percentage for them against a Ligue 1 opponent at home behind Troyes (75%).
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A pair of solid defensive performances has seen Les Merlus climb back into contention for a place in Europe, posting back-to-back clean sheets domestically for the first time all season.
If they can keep Nice off the scoresheet this weekend, it would mark the first time they claimed three straight shutouts in this competition since 2013, when they did not concede in five successive top-flight encounters from November to December of that year under the guidance of Christian Gourcuff.
Regis Le Bris has led this group to 12 victories and 43 points after 27 league fixtures, their highest-ever totals to this point of a top-flight campaign.
Although they have been sharp defensively, conceding only once in their last four games, Lorient are lacking that killer instinct on the road, without a goal away from home since losing 4-2 at Reims at the start of February.
Lorient have not beaten a side who are even or ahead of them on points in the Ligue 1 table since late January, when they edged Rennes 2-1.
Les Merlus have struggled on the road against teams below them in the Ligue 1 table, winning just one of their last five such fixtures.
Team News
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Terem Moffi, currently on loan from Lorient, will miss this match for Nice through suspension, Antoine Mendy is dealing with a sprained ankle, Youcef Atal has a sore thigh and Sofiane Diop remains sidelined because of a sprained knee.
Moffi and Youssouf Ndayishimiye scored in their draw with Nantes last week, with the latter netting his first of the league campaign, while Khephren Thuram, the son of legendary defender Lilian Thuram, received his first call-up to the French national team for their upcoming Euro qualifiers.
On Thursday, Gaetan Laborde scored for a second successive home game in all competitions as he, Moffi and Billal Brahimi all netted in a 3-1 win over Sheriff in their Europa Conference League tie as Nice advanced to the quarter-finals of that tournament 4-1 on aggregate.
Yvon Mvogo will not be available for Lorient until the end of the month because of a sore tendon, Julien Laporte is not expected back until late April from a knee injury, while Gedeon Kalulu and Bonke Innocent are a few weeks away from recovering from a groin and ankle issue respectively.
Vito Mannone only had to make two saves against Troyes to collect his second successive clean sheet in this competition, Stephane Diarra put home his second of the campaign and Bamba Dieng scored his first in Ligue 1 as a member of Lorient since transferring from Marseille in late January.
Enzo Le Fee, who has four strikes for them domestically this season, is without a goal in league play since February 1, which was also the last time Ibrahima Kone found the back of the net for Le FCL.
Nice possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Lotomba, Todibo, Dante; Ramsey, Rosario, Thuram, Bard; Bouanani, Laborde; Pepe
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mannone; Silva, Meite, Talbi, Le Goff; Abergel; Le Bris, Innocent, Le Fee, Faivre; Dieng
We say: Nice 2-0 Lorient
By now, the Nice players have a solid grasp on how Digard wants them to play, and their defensive prowess along with their consistency from one match to another has us tipping the scales in their favour this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
