Auxerre vs Nice prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-08-17 13:00.
[p]After suffering relegation from Ligue 1 in 2022/23, Auxerre returned back to the first division at the first time of asking, vindicating the club’s decision to stick by Christophe Pélissier. Despite only having been appointed in October 2022, the former Lorient and Amiens boss is now the French top flight’s longest-serving current manager! [/p]
[p]His first match back in the big time sees him take on Nice, an opponent his new side have failed to beat in their last five H2Hs – the most recent of which was an agonising penalty-shootout loss in the Coupe de France in January. When looking at Auxerre’s home record in this same fixture though, the picture looks significantly different, with the Stade de l’AbbĂ©-Deschamps faithful having witnessed their team take ten points from the last 12 on offer. [/p]
[p]Unlike their hosts, Nice are one of seven clubs to have changed head coach this summer with former Lens boss Franck Haise taking over from Francesco Farioli who departed to join Ajax. Having alternated between finishing fifth and ninth in the last five seasons, fans of the Eaglets will be hoping that pattern doesn’t continue following an impressive if not spectacularly exciting campaign under Farioli, who helped mould Ligue 1’s meanest defence in 2023/24 (W15, D10, L9).  [/p]
[p]Nice struggled for ruthlessness in front of goal however, scoring just 40 times in the league – the lowest total among the top 12 and fewer than relegated Lorient. Appointing Haise could therefore prove a masterstroke, as in the past four Ligue 1 seasons, his Lens side were one of only four teams to have netted at least 55 times in at least three of those campaigns, with the other three outfits being Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Lyon. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Ado Onaiwu scored Auxerre’s consolation in last weekend’s 3-1 friendly defeat at Reims and has also netted five times in his side’s last four competitive home games, including a hat-trick in the final match of the campaign last season. Nice will be hoping that new arrival Jonathan Clauss can hit the ground running after moving from Marseille, and the early signs are promising after the 31-year-old, a key figure under Haise at Lens, scored his side’s second goal in their 3-2 friendly win over Lecce earlier this month. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: The first side to score in normal time in the last 12 H2Hs has avoided defeat. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]