Nicevs.Le Havre

Nice had their top-four hopes dented slightly with a heavy defeat on the road, while Le Havre plummeted into the drop zone by losing a relegation six-pointer on home soil.

Match preview

Franck Haise's men have struggled from a lack of consistency this season, and they will need to bounce back from a chastening 4-1 defeat away to an Alexandre Lacazette-inspired Lyon.

That saw OL leapfrog Nice into fifth, and Haise's side also missed the opportunity to break into the top four, with Lille surprisingly dropping points last weekend.

While sitting in sixth, it is something of a surprise, considering Nice have only won five of their 18 matches in all competitions this season, their worst win rate at this stage of a season in 15 years.

Much of that is down to some poor form in Europe, but also because Haise's style of play has almost completely eradicated the defensive stability they enjoyed under Francesco Farioli last season.

Nice have already conceded 13 goals in their nine home games this season, more than the amount they conceded at the Allianz Riviera in 18 games last season.

To make up for that, they have improved in attack, because simply scoring one goal here will see them equal their tally for goals on home soil from the entirety of last season (21).

Le Havre have also proven to be favourable opponents recently, so this will be a fixture they target for three points, considering they are unbeaten in four at home to their upcoming opponents - winning three.

Prior to this current winless run away to Nice, Le Havre did have a run of six wins in seven here, and they will need to tap into that if they are to move out of the relegation zone this weekend.

Le Havre were the club that finished just one place above the bottom three last season, and it appears they will be in the relegation fight once again this season.

Didier Digard's men have lost nine league games already this season, including eight of the last 10, with the most recent being a disappointing home defeat to relegation rivals Angers.

As well as that loss a week ago, Digard has seen his side suffer many poor results at home, losing heavily to Lyon, Lille and Reims.

Therefore, being on the road could be a blessing in disguise, considering they won on their last away trip at Nantes, and have only conceded eight goals in six games so far.

That will be required if they want to move out of the relegation playoff spot, as Angers sent them into the bottom three courtesy of that result last weekend.

Anything here will be a bonus though for the league's lowest scorers, because the clash with Strasbourg next weekend will be huge, with both clubs separated by just one point at present.

Nice Ligue 1 form:

D

W

W

D

W

L

Nice form (all competitions):

W

D

D

W

L

L

Le Havre Ligue 1 form:

L

L

W

L

W

L

Team News

Nice are currently suffering from numerous injury setbacks, with as many as eight first-team players currently sidelined.

Dante will miss an extended period with a knee injury, while full-backs Melvin Bard and Jonathan Clauss are also nursing issues of their own picked up recently.

Hamstring issues will keep Ali Abdi and Youssouf Ndayishimiye out of this one, and midfielder Morgan Sanson is yet to overcome an ankle problem, joining lively attacker Jeremie Boga on the sidelines.

The issues have also mounted up for Le Havre, with Oussama Targhalline (thigh) joining Yann Kitala (ankle), Oualid El Hajjam (calf), Arouna Sangante (groin) and Andy Logbo on the treatment table at present.

Andre Ayew should feature though, and will look to add to his good career tally against Nice, having scored in five of his previous 10 encounters against the South Coast club.

Nice possible starting lineup:

Bulka; Rosario, Bombito, Abdelmonem; Louchet, Ndombele, Boudaoui, Nandjou; Cho, Guessand, Diop

Le Havre possible starting lineup:

Desmas; Pembele, Youtube Kinkoue, Lloris; Casimir, Toure, Kuzyaev, Operi; Sabbi, Ayew, Soumare

We say: Nice 3-1 Le Havre

Nice were thrashed at Lyon last weekend, but still showed more than enough in attack to suggest that they will have too much for a struggling Le Havre side that start the weekend in the bottom three.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

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