Football | Friday, February 16, 2024 8:05 AM (Revised at: Friday, February 16, 2024 8:55 AM)

Lyon vs Nice Prediction: Team News and Lineups Preview

Lyon vs Nice prediction, team news, lineups and fixtures preview - IMAGO / MAXPPP - Alexandre Lacazette.

French Football Expert

Look no further for your Lyon vs Nice prediction, team news, lineups and fixtures preview from the Groupama Stadium. Will we see some Friday night fireworks in Ligue 1?

Resurgent Lyon face a Nice side who remain in second position and this makes for an intriguing clash. The visitors have recently come unstuck away from home and their once impermeable defense has shown signs of leaking lately. French expert Steve Wyss brings us his best bets for the match.

Our Lyon vs Nice prediction is for Lyon to win the match 2-1

Lyon vs Nice Prediction, Team News, Standings and Lineups Preview

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Lyon vs Nice Tip 1: Stick with the Lyon hot hand against a cooling Nice

France, Ligue 1, Friday 16th February, 20:00 (UK)

Lyon have endured a largely miserable campaign, but there are some strong signs that they are back on the up. Les Gones have won 5 of their last 7 Ligue 1 fixtures to climb out of the relegation zone. They have also made it as far as the French Cup quarter-finals to further garner some momentum. There have been two keys to their improved progress. Firstly, the management of Pierre Sage has proven to be a welcome boost. The former academy coach has good man-management skills but has also adopted his tactics in each game to suit the occasion.

Secondly, Lyon were one of the most active teams in the whole of Europe in the recent January transfer window. They forked out over £50m, and signings included the talented Gift Orban upfront and two key loanees from the Premier League, Orel Mangala and Said Benrahma. This boost to their squad has been a big help, and I am surprised they can be backed on a level ball 0.0 Asian handicap here.

Nice have had a strong season and remain second in the table, but their away form has completely dried up, with four defeats in five games, scoring just a solitary goal. Their famed strong defence has shown signs of cracking, and we must wonder if they will start to fade in the second half of the campaign. With full draw cover, Lyon on a level ball line makes the most when tackling this fixture.

Lyon vs Nice Tip 1: Lyon 0.0 Asian Handicap (TRACKED BET)
Best Odds: 1.84
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 10/10

Lyon vs Nice Tip 2: First half stalemate likely at Groupama

One incredible statistic is that between them, Lyon and Nice have both been winning at half-time on just seven occasions this season! From a Lyon perspective, part of that has been how poor they’ve been for a large majority of the campaign. Under their new manager, Pierre Sage, they have a mixed record at the interval but are more likely to grow into the game. Sage will likely give Nice plenty of respect, which could lead to a tight first half in which both teams feel each other out.

The visitors have been drawing at half-time in 14 out of 21 games this season. Nice is known for having a watertight defence, and the way they set themselves up is on the cautious side. Even if they have been strong favourites, their manager, Francesco Farioli, is known for playing a patient type of approach where he will then make some tactical adjustments after the break to change things if needed.

Lyon is more confident now, but a draw wouldn’t be a bad result for them in this game. I don’t expect them to come gung-ho out of the traps, and 0-0 is a possible half-time score; backing the draw at an odds-against price has great appeal based on the stats and the style of play I expect from both teams.

Lyon vs Nice Tip 2: Half Time Draw (TRACKED BET)
Best Odds: 2.05
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 9/10

Lyon vs Nice Tip 3: Top marksman to keep firing for Lyon

Lyon captain Alexandre Lacazette has been in brilliant recent form and scored nine goals in his last ten competitive fixtures. He is absolutely red hot, and I’m amazed that odds of 2.87 are offered on him to hit the back of the net in a home fixture. I can only think that Nice’s fearsome defensive reputation and record has been factored into the price.

What Lacazette has achieved this season must be applauded. He is now the second-highest scorer in Ligue 1, with only Kylian Mbappe ahead of him, and he is on a different planet in scoring terms. Let’s not forget how poor this Lyon team has been, but the former Arsenal man has kept plugging away, and it’s no coincidence that his best form has been under the current boss, Pierre Sage. He is one of only three strikers in the top 8 for xG who has overachieved his numbers.

Let’s keep riding his great form by backing him at a massive price in front of his own fans. Nice have shown more defensive vulnerability in recent weeks, especially away from home. They will do extremely well to keep him quiet.

Lyon vs Nice Tip 3: Alexandre Lacazette to Score Anytime (TRACKED BET)
Best Odds: 2.87
Bookmaker: Bet365
Stake: 8/10

Lyon vs Nice Prediction odds via bet365 as at 11:45, February 12th, 2024. Odds may now differ.

Lyon vs Nice Team News and Possible Lineups: Dante suspension a blow for Nice

Lyon should have a fairly clean bill of health, although new signing Orel Mangala is doubtful with a thigh problem. He had to be substituted off the field just before half-time last week, and Corentin Tolisso is the favourite to come into the side. Nice will welcome back two players from AFCON duty, Jeremie Boga and Terem Moffi, but both might have to settle for a place on the bench. Veteran defender and captain Dante is suspended, which is a significant blow.

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes, Tagliafico, Caleta-Car, O’Brien, Maitland-Niles, Tolisso. Matic, Caqueret, Benhrama, Lacazette, Nuamah

Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka, Bard, Rosario, Todibo, Lotomba, Sanson Thuram, Boudaoui, Louchet, Guessand, Laborde

The Predicted Lyon vs Nice Ligue 1 Standings by BETSiE

Our in-house predictive model, BETSiE, has had a go at predicting the Ligue 1 standings ahead of the Lyon vs Nice, currently 13th vs 2nd, fixture by utilising the underlying data from the 2023/24 season up until this point.

For more league-specific BETSiE content including standings, probabilities and predictions, visit her page here – it’s worth it.

Lyon vs Nice Standings Prediction

POSITION	CLUB	GAMES	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Paris SG	34	22.3	7.7	4.0	78.2	33.2	45.1	74.6
2	Nice	34	18.2	9.5	6.2	41.4	23.5	17.9	64.2
3	Brest	34	17.1	9.4	7.5	52.0	31.8	20.3	60.8
4	Monaco	34	16.4	8.3	9.3	59.3	45.1	14.2	57.6
5	Lille	34	15.3	11.6	7.1	48.3	29.6	18.7	57.5
6	Marseille	34	14.3	11.4	8.3	50.7	35.5	15.2	54.4
7	Lens	34	14.9	8.3	10.8	45.4	37.8	7.6	53.0
8	Reims	34	14.7	6.6	12.7	46.0	44.1	2.0	50.6
9	Rennes	34	13.3	10.4	10.3	51.6	42.0	9.6	50.3
10	Strasbourg	34	11.1	10.7	12.2	38.3	43.4	-5.1	44.1
11	Montpellier	34	9.7	11.4	12.9	40.2	43.5	-3.3	40.4
12	Le Havre	34	8.9	12.4	12.7	38.0	45.5	-7.4	39.2
13	Lyon	34	9.7	7.3	17.0	38.9	55.1	-16.2	36.4
14	Toulouse	34	7.9	11.3	14.8	35.5	50.6	-15.1	34.9
15	Nantes	34	8.7	7.1	18.2	36.5	55.9	-19.4	33.2
16	Lorient	34	5.8	10.2	18.0	38.6	66.5	-27.9	27.7
17	Clermont	34	6.0	9.1	18.8	27.6	57.3	-29.7	27.2
18	Metz	34	6.5	7.4	20.1	27.6	53.9	-26.3	26.8

Match Stats: Lyon aiming to add to Nice away day woes

Lyon have returned to form winning 5 of their last 7 Ligue 1 games and also made the French Cup quarter finals.
Nice have failed to win in any of their last five road games, scoring just one goal in the process.
8 out of 10 away games for Nice have contained under 2.5 goals.
Lyon home games average exactly 3 goals per match in Ligue 1.

Lyon Fixtures: Key fixtures against bottom three sides soon

Vs Metz (A)
Vs Strasbourg (H) French Cup
Vs Lens (H)
Vs Lorient (A)
Vs Toulouse (A)

Nice Fixtures: French Cup QF on the horizon in Paris

Vs Clermont (H)
Vs PSG (A) French Cup
Vs Toulouse (A)
Vs Montpellier (H)
Vs Lens (A)

SAFER GAMBLING

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