Nice vs Montpellier prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-01-10 20:00.
The lion’s share of possession and over four times as many goal attempts as their opponents couldn’t stop Nice from embarrassingly crashing out of the Coupe De France against third-tier opponents last time out. Reports suggesting that boss Lucien Favre’s position may become untenable in the near future have unsurprisingly begun to surface with Nice also enduring their worst 17-game Ligue 1 start since 2014/15.
Achieving a third-placed finish in his first managerial stint here before eventually leaving amicably for Dortmund may now seem like a distant memory for Favre, who must improve upon a dire home league record (W2, D3, L3) to improve his prospects. In fact, only four sides have picked up fewer home points than Nice ahead of the round and their pre-match favouritism doesn’t inspire confidence either, failing to win three of their five such games here.
Also crashing out to lower-tier opponents in the cup were Montpellier, who have still won just once under new manager Romain Pitau following their 2-1 defeat at Pau (W1, D2, L4). Fears of a second-tier return for the first time since 2008/09 continue to grow around Montpellier, although they retained a four-point cushion over the drop zone ahead of the round and should be inspired by their 1-0 win here last term.
Repeating that result is no easy feat though given that Montpellier have not won consecutive away H2Hs in over a decade. Clear underdogs to do so, Pitau’s men may be buoyed by the fact that four of their seven away points were accrued in their last two trips whilst seven of their eight points as pre-match outsiders came on their travels.
Players to watch: Nice haven’t tasted victory since Gaëtan Laborde’s strike in a 1-0 win back in November, yet the former Montpellier player scored in his most recent meeting with his ex employers. A likely outlet for Montpellier is Téji Savanier; their top league scorer (G6) has scored in three of the last four rounds and has three match winners to his name this term.
Hot stat: Montpellier have scored a league-high seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of their away games this season.