Preview: Nimes vs. Nice - prediction, team news, lineups

Nimes and Nice will both be looking to bounce back from respective defeats in Ligue 1 when the two strugglers go head to head at the Stade des Costieres on Wednesday evening.

Jerome Arpinon 's men suffered a crushing defeat to Lorient in their most recent outing, whereas Nice fell to defeat to Rennes at the weekend.

Match preview

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Nimes' struggles at both ends of the pitch continued against Lorient at the weekend - a side who have plenty to be worried about themselves given their recent form.

However, Arpinon's men were leapfrogged by their opponents in the table as Lorient stormed to a 3-0 win on their own turf, with Quentin Boisgard, Pierre-Yves Hamel and Yoane Wissa all finding the back of the net to condemn Nimes to their ninth defeat of the season.

Les Crocodiles have now slipped into the relegation playoff spot following that humbling defeat at the weekend, and the 27 goals that Arpinon's men have shipped is the highest in the division.

With seven losses from their last eight - and only two goals scored at the correct end of the pitch in that time - Nimes certainly have the look of relegation candidates and it will not be long before Arpinon starts fearing for his future at the club.

Les Crocodiles thrashed Brest 4-0 at home on the opening day of the season, but Nimes have failed to win on familiar territory since that August victory and are on a four-game losing streak at the Stade des Costieres.

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Similarly, Nice are yet to find their feet under Adrian Ursea - who recently replaced Patrick Vieira in the Aiglons dugout - and their winless run across all competitions stretched to eight matches with defeat to Rennes at the weekend.

M'Baye Niang got the all-important goal which saw Rennes pick up a long-overdue three points while piling more misery on Nice, who have now tasted defeat in seven of their last eight matches in all competitions.

Ursea will take some time to perfect his methods at the helm, but Nice will slowly start running out of time to turn their fortunes around and get their charge for a European berth back on track, with Les Aiglons down in 12th amid their dismal spell of form.

However, most of Nice's poor results in the league have come on their own turf, and Les Aiglons are on a four-game unbeaten run on the road in Ligue 1 - shipping just one goal in that time.

Nice took the spoils with a 2-1 win in this fixture last season, but Nimes managed to prevail 3-1 on the Aiglons' turf in the most recent meeting back in February.

Nimes Ligue 1 form: LLWLLL

Nice Ligue 1 form: DWLLDL

Nice form (all competitions): LLLDLL

Team News

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Nimes manager Arpinon opted for a 3-4-3 against Lorient - a move which did not pay dividends and he should revert to a 4-3-3 with Andres Cubas back in the fold following a suspension.

However, Cubas's midfield partner Lucas Deaux sprained his ankle before the trip to Lorient and is not expected to recover in time for this one, while Birger Meling and Pablo Martinez are also sidelined with knee and muscle injuries respectively.

Anthony Briancon, Patrick Burner and Sidy Sarr are all candidates to return to the first XI for this game, with two 21-year-old's in Matteo Ahlinvi and Kelyan Guessoum likely to drop out.

Meanwhile, Nice will have to make do without Hicham Boudaoui, with the midfielder suspended for this fixture for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Rony Lopes is expected to fill the void left by Boudaoui on the right-hand side, while Kasper Dolberg could make his return to the first XI after overcoming a groin problem.

Danilo had to come off just after the hour mark in the defeat to Rennes, with Robson Bambu or Andy Pelmard likely to replace the Brazilian in Ursea's back three.

Nimes possible starting lineup:

Reynet; Burner, Briancon, Landre, Miguel; Sarr, Cubas, Fomba; Ripart, Kone, Eliasson

Nice possible starting lineup:

Benitez; Pelmard, Bambu, Nsoki; Lotomba, Schneiderlin, Reine-Adelaide, Kamara; Lopes, Dolberg, Gouiri

We say: Nimes 0-2 Nice

Both Nimes and Nice will view this game as an excellent opportunity to end their respective winless runs, and a first victory for the visitors under Ursea would be a welcome uplift for the Aiglons faithful. Nice have fared better on the road than on their own turf this season, and given Nimes's troubles both offensively and defensively, we can see the visitors coming away with all three points.

Top betting tip

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