Nice vs Strasbourg Prediction: The Eagles will play better defensively

Strasbourg is a very uncomfortable opponent for Nice. In each of the previous 5 seasons, the Eagles have lost at least once. Will the home side be able to win this time?

Last season, Nice missed out narrowly on qualifying for the Champions League, finishing just three points behind 3rd place. Christophe Galtier did a lot of work at the helm of the Eagles, but he now coaches PSG and was replaced by Lucien Favre, who had previously worked at Nice. The team has retained the central core of players. Meanwhile, the club strengthened its goalkeeping position by acquiring Marcin Bulka from PSG and Kasper Schmeichel. Mattia Viti and Alexis Beca Beca should support the defensive side, while Aaron Ramsey can add creativity to Nice. Morgan Schneiderlin and Kasper Dahlberg are both on injured reserve, and the Dane would be particularly useful now before the club has had time to sign any of their strikers.

Nice played five friendlies in the summer, in which they only won 1 victory. During the friendly, they beat Torino 1:0 and drew 1:1 with Roma before that. In their opening Ligue 1 fixture, the Eagles drew 1:1 away to Toulouse. The opponents took the lead fairly quickly, after which Nice seized on the initiative.

Strasbourg was one of last season's significant discoveries, finishing 6th in the championship, just 3 points behind the top 5. Ludovic Ajorque, Habib Diallo, Kevin Gameiro, and Adrien Thomasson combined to score a total of 41 goals, and it is they who are primarily responsible for Bianconeri's success. While all four remained in the squad, Anthony Kassi and Frédéric Gilbert departed, forcing a change in defensive play.

The team won 3 of their six friendlies this summer, and their opponents were also formidable. In the friendly, Strasbourg beat Liverpool with a score of 0:3. But it was more difficult against the Monaco main squad. The result was 1:2 in favor of the Monegasques, although Strasbourg had a chance to draw. After two conceded goals, the team slightly relaxed but pulled themselves together and reduced the gap to the minimum. In the end, Adrien Thomasson missed an excellent opportunity to restore the balance, but the goalkeeper managed to react to a shot by the Bianconeri midfielder.

Strasbourg had many problems in defense against Monaco, and the departure of their two central defenders cannot go unnoticed. The Bianconeri will have a difficult time on the road, as they scored most of their points on home soil last season, finishing fourth in Ligue 1. Nice showed themselves well offensively against Toulouse. So, it's time to beat an uncomfortable opponent at home finally.

TelecomAsia Sport is looking for a Qatar-based video blogger to work during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Contact jobs@telecomasia.net for more information.