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Nice face off with Nimes at the Allianz Riviera stadium in France’s Ligue 1 on Wednesday.
Both of these sides have struggled in 2020-21, but Nice look safe in 12th place. Meanwhile, Nimes are still in danger of relegation in 18th.
However, a strong result for Nimes here would see them potentially climb into safety – for a few days at least.
Nice vs Nimes Head-to-Head
Nice picked up an impressive win at the weekend, defeating the highly-rated Rennes 1-2 thanks to goals from Amine Gouiri and Flavius Daniliuc.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Adrian Ursea’s side, and was enough to move them from 16th to 12th spot. This move essentially ensured their safety for the moment.
More consistency is still needed from Nice though. Although they’ve won nine games this season, they haven’t won more than one in a row since early October.
Meanwhile, Nimes continued their recent revival at the weekend by pulling off a 1-1 draw with Nantes despite being reduced to 10 men.
The game was their fourth in a row without defeat, meaning they’ve taken 10 points from a possible 12 since 14 February.
With a much-improved defense, Nimes now appear to have a genuine chance of avoiding relegation. They should at least give themselves a chance by heading into the relegation playoffs.
However, they might have reason to worry. They’ve already lost twice to Nice this season, once in Ligue 1 and once in the Coupe de France as recently as 10 February.
Nice form guide: W-L-L-L-W
Nimes form guide: L-W-W-W-D
Nice vs Nimes form guide
Nice
Nice still have a horrendous amount of injuries to deal with, with no fewer than seven first-team players out at the moment. Kasper Dolberg and Youcef Atal may be ready to return soon, but that won’t help Nice in this game.
Injured: Dante, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Danilo Barbosa, Jordan Lotomba, Rony Lopes
Doubtful: Kasper Dolberg, Youcef Atal
Suspended: None
Nimes
Nimes have as lengthy an injury list as Nice, with a total of eight players likely to miss out on this game. To make matters worse, defender Florian Miguel is suspended following his red card against Nantes this weekend.
Injured: Lucas Deaux, Karim Aribi, Anthony Briancon, Lucas Buades, Pablo Martinez, Sidy Sarr, Clement Depres, Antoine Valerio
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Florian Miguel
Nice vs Nimes Predicted XI
Nice predicted XI (4-4-2): Walter Benitez, Flavius Daniliuc, William Saliba, Jean-Clair Todibo, Stanley N’Soki, Myziane Maolida, Alexis Claude Maurice, Khephren Thuram, Hassane Kamara, Amine Gouiri, Hichem Boudaoui
Nimes predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Baptiste Reynet, Patrick Burner, Sofiane Alakouch, Kelyan Guessoum, Birger Meling, Lamine Fomba, Niclas Eliasson, Renaud Ripart, Yassine Benrahou, Zinedine Ferhat, Moussa Kone
Nice vs Nimes Prediction
After their recent improvement, Nimes will be desperate to pick up more points in this game. With Nice still depleted due to injuries, it’s possible that they will be able to do so.
However, their defense – which will be missing Florian Miguel – will still need to deal with Amine Gouiri, and that won’t be an easy task.
With all of this in mind, a draw seems like the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Nice 2-2 Nimes
