Nice vs Marseille prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-10-20 19:00.
After a disappointing ninth place finish in Ligue 1 last season, few would have predicted that after eight games of the new campaign Nice would be riding high in second. Boasting the only remaining unbeaten record in the French top-flight (W4, D4), Nice put that on the line against Marseille looking to build upon a seven match unbeaten home league run (W3, D4).
The amount of draws in that run shows there’s still room for improvement for Francesco Farioli’s side, but given he’s still yet to taste defeat as Nice boss since taking over in the summer, he has time to work on that. One area he has clearly worked on a lot is his side’s defence, with Nice’s five clean sheets accumulated in league action this term a record no other side in Europe’s traditional top-five leagues can better ahead of the club football restart.
Balancing the demands of domestic and European football hasn’t been easy so far this term for Marseille, who return from the international break after an indifferent start (W3, D3, L2). A 3-0 win against Le Havre preceded the pause, with Gennaro Gattuso’s men returning to action knowing they can secure back-to-back victories for the first time this season if they can repeat the 3-0 victory they managed here last season.
Considering Marseille have beaten Nice 58 times in Ligue 1 (D23, L28), the most wins for one team against another in top-flight history, it seems plausible to suggest they could end their seven match winless away league run here (D2, L5). Doing so with a clean sheet would mark the occasion even more, as Les Phocéens haven’t kept successive league clean sheets since August-September 2022!
Players to watch: Hicham Boudaoui netted Nice’s winner against Metz after just 14 minutes prior to the international break, and his last three home goals came after the hour mark. Battling for the late limelight, Ismaïla Sarr has also seen two of his last three Marseille strikes this term arrive beyond the 60th minute.
Hot stat: Four of Marseille’s five away league goals scored this term arrived before the 20th minute.