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Nice
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 15
Dec 10, 2023 at 12pm UK
Allianz Riviera
Reims

Nice
2 - 1
Reims

Laborde (55'), Boga (82')
Bard (86'), Ndayishimiye (84')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Abdelhamid (78')
Foket (61'), Abdelhamid (84'), Matusiwa (86')

Preview: Nice vs. Reims - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Nice and Reims, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Nice will look to recover from suffering their first defeat of the season last weekend, when they welcome Reims to the Allianz Riviera on Sunday.

The visitors are also in fine form, but speculation surrounding manager Will Still could be a possible distraction here, as Reims look to maintain a European push.


Match preview

Nice's Terem Moffi celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates on September 15, 2023© Reuters

Francesco Farioli's dream start as Nice boss finally took its first bump in the road, as they were beaten 1-0 at Nantes last weekend.

After eight wins and five draws from their opening 13 games, a first mark in the defeats column has not been overly damaging, as they are still only four points behind the might of Paris Saint-Germain.

A remarkable defensive record has been the backbone to their success so far, especially at home, where they have not conceded since the opening day.

Nantes' winner in their last outing ended a phenomenal run without conceding which lasted almost 12-and-a-half hours, helping them towards 10 clean sheets in their last 12 games.

Nice's tally of five goals conceded remains by far the best in Ligue 1 and in Europe's top five leagues, as it is six better than the next best in the French top flight.

However, that 1-0 defeat did highlight where Nice's potential future problems will lie - scoring goals.

Only four teams in the entire division have scored fewer despite OGC sitting second, and that problem bore its head last weekend, as they struggled to breach the Nantes defence.

Reims manager William Still pictured in October 2022© Reuters

Reims are likely to provide another stubborn test, especially given Still's success in making the side tough to beat after last season's superb unbeaten run, and in this campaign too, as four of their last five wins have been by one-goal margins.

Still's performances in charge have not gone unnoticed, though, as he is rumoured to be one of the heavy favourites to take the vacant Sunderland job in the Championship.

It is believed the Black Cats wanted Nice boss Farioli but missed the boat, so it may not be too much of a surprise to see that his assistant Julian Sable is also fancied in the running.

After taking over last season, Still made headlines for the unbeaten run even though Reims still finished in mid-table obscurity, but this time they are big contenders to break into the top four.

Should the worst happen and Sunderland manage to convince Still to leave, his departing present could well be matching the club record for league wins in a calendar year, as they are one short of matching their tally from 1976 - where they won 16.

Nice Ligue 1 form:

Reims Ligue 1 form:


Team News

Nice defender Youcef Atal warms up in August 2023© Reuters

A broken toe will keep Nice's Sofiane Diop out until the new year, and that injury gave Evann Guessand a chance from the start last weekend, but Gaetan Laborde is likely to come in on the right of a three-man attack.

Youcef Atal remains suspended following his comments made in regards to the conflict in the Middle East, so Pablo Rosario is set to continue to deputise for the Algerian.

Hicham Boudaoui returned from suspension last weekend but was only a late substitute, so he could make a start in midfield ahead of either Khephren Thuram or Morgan Sanson.

Reims are set to be without Marshall Munetsi (sprained ankle) and Josh Wilson-Esbrand (shoulder) for the rest of 2023.

Ibrahim Diakite and Valentin Atangana Edoa are also both absent and could miss the rest of December, so Still may be tempted to stick with the same side that beat Strasbourg last weekend.

Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Rosario, Todibo, Dante, Bard; Ndayishimiye, Thuram, Boudaoui; Laborde, Moffi, Boga

Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Busi, Agbadou, Okumu, Abdelhamid, De Smet; Richardson, Matusiwa, Teuma; Ito, Daramy


SM words green background

We say: Nice 0-0 Reims

With two pragmatic sides who have enjoyed success at keeping things tight and frustrating opposition attackers, there is a high chance that they could cancel each other out here.

Remarkably, five of the last six head-to-heads between these two sides have ended 0-0, with just 19 goals in their last 16 meetings, and a repeat is very possible.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 2.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Nice vs Reims

Nice
57.1%
Draw
42.9%
Reims
0.0%
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Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram pictured in August 2023
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG108202982126
2Marseille1062223121120
3MonacoMonaco10622157820
4Lille10532169718
5Nice104421991016
6Lyon104331715215
7Lens1035297214
8Reims104241615114
9StrasbourgStrasbourg103431919013
10Auxerre104151718-113
11Brest104151316-313
12Toulouse103341111012
13Rennes103251316-311
14NantesNantes102441214-210
15Angers102441116-510
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne103161024-1410
17Le HavreLe Havre10307820-129
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier10118830-224


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