Lille vs Nice prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-05-18 19:00.
[p]Lille face a potentially difficult ending to their 2023/24 Ligue 1 season with a final-day game that will decide their future. With the top three sides in the standings earning league-stage places in the next UEFA Champions League campaign, the Mastiffs would secure that coveted third spot with a victory here, unless Brest thrash Toulouse and jump above them on goal difference. [/p]
[p]The worst possible outcome is entering the Champions League qualification rounds after upcoming fifth-placed opponents Nice’s midweek loss to Paris Saint-Germain, so it will nonetheless be a welcome improvement on Lille’s own fifth-placed finish last term under current head coach Paulo Fonseca. Fonseca and his players should nonetheless be confident of grabbing the win that will likely send them to the league stage of Europe’s most prestigious competition, especially as they have already defeated Monaco (2-0), Brest (1-0) and Lens (2-1) at home this season.[/p]
[p]Reports emerged just hours before Nice’s loss to PSG that their manager Francesco Farioli is Ajax’s top target to replace current manager John van ‘t Schip in the summer, so the Italian may be relieved that his current employer cannot move up or down the standings in this final round of fixtures. [/p]
[p]Whoever takes charge of the first team next season will be guiding them through their first UEFA Europa League campaign since 2020/21. Before then, Nice will be looking to produce a strong display at Stade Pierre-Mauroy – and secure a third successive win at Lille for the first time ever – and to their credit, the Eaglets come into this encounter in impressive form on the road, having earned eight points (W2, D2) from their last four away trips, including a 3-1 victory over European hopefuls Lens.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Bafodé Diakité’s double in Lille’s last home match was particularly timely, given that he was the club’s only goalscorer in the reverse H2H. Terem Moffi has been an efficient performer away from the Allianz Riviera, netting the opener inside 15 minutes in three of Nice’s last five such games in Ligue 1.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Fourteen of the 20 league matches involving either team since the start of March have produced over 2.5 total goals.[/p]