Lille vs Nice prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2025-01-16 20:05.
[p]Lille are among the most in-form sides in France’s top flight, having gone 13 Ligue 1 games unbeaten (W5, D8) to move up to fifth in the table. Manager Bruno Génésio will be disappointed that they’ve taken only three points from their three most recent league outings though, but Friday night’s encounter gives them an opportunity to move into the division’s top four with a win against the team currently sat fourth, Nice.[/p]
[p]Génésio’s side have scored 2+ goals seven times during this 13-match league unbeaten run, and managed five clean sheets in the same sequence, including one last Friday in a stalemate with Auxerre. The Mastiffs will need to be defensively resolute again here if they’re to pick up a first home victory against the Eaglets since May 2021, having tasted defeat in this corresponding fixture twice since then (D1).[/p]
[p]Attempting to keep their spot in the top four, with the chance to move into the top three if third-placed Monaco slip up at Montpellier, Nice themselves have lost just once in their last 13 league games (W7, D5). Franck Haise’s side have scored in all bar two of their Ligue 1 outings to date this season, a record which can only be bettered by runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, while their return of 14 away goals in 2024/25 is the joint third-highest tally in the division pre-round.[/p]
[p]But having recorded only three top-flight clean sheets so far this term, and only one since the start of November, their defensive fragility will concern boss Haise as they push to cement a European spot. Moreover, when you pair that with the fact that they’re yet to win any away game in which they’ve conceded first in the league this season (D1, L2), the key here for Nice could well be grabbing the opener.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Alexsandro has received six yellow cards in Ligue 1 this term, with the last three coming in the second half, while he was also booked in last season’s corresponding fixture. The Brazilian may be up against Gaëtan Laborde, who has scored three goals in his last two league outings, and is a familiar foe for Lille, netting in three of the teams’ last four H2Hs.[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Each of the pair’s last three meetings have ended in draws, with both teams scoring.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ben Olawumi[/i][/p]