Bordeaux vs Nice
French Ligue 1
Date: Wednesday, 21st December 2016
Kick off at 19:50 UK Time
Venue: Nouvelle Stade de Bordeaux.
Bordeaux is currently on a downward spiral with a three-game losing streak as the team has also been winless in five of their last six games. With that, they have dropped to the 10th spot of the 20-team French top flight table, eight points above the bottom three relegation area.
Les Girondins is coming off a crushing 0-4 loss to fellow middling squad Montpellier on the road at the Stade de la Mosson last Saturday, as per ESPN.
Four different Montpellier players scored one goal each to complete the hosts' four-goal haul, namely Paul Lasne, Stephane Sessegnon, Steve Mounie, and Yacouba Sylla in the 13th, 20th, 84th, and 90th+2 minutes respectively.
It was the third straight shutout loss for head coach Jocelyn Gourvennec's side.
Meanwhile, Nice has been unbeaten in the last six rounds to remain in the top spot in the overall standings, four points ahead of second-place team Monaco and seven points above defending champions and third-running club Paris Saint-Germain.
Les Aiglons nipped bottom three squad Dijon, 2-1, in their most recent fixture on Sunday held at their home ground of Allianz Riviera, Daily Mail Online reported.
Italian striker Mario Balotelli was the man of the match for head coach Lucien Favre's team as he scored a brace in the 32nd and 50th minutes to lead his team to the one-goal victory.
Dijon forward Julio Tavares scored a goal with a penalty kick in the 37th minute as the visitors avoided a shutout loss.
Balotelli has scored six times in his seven appearances in the Ligue 1 so far this season and he continues to play a key role in Nice's campaign.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 2-0 romp by Nice.
Bordeaux starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Prior; Contento, Pallois, Lewczuk, Gajic; Plasil, Vada, Sertic; Menez, Malcom, Laborde
Nice starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Cardinale; Sarr, Le Marchand, Dante, Souquet; Walter, Seri, Cyprien; Belhanda, Plea, Balotelli
Bordeaux vs Nice: Head to Head Stats
As aforementioned Bordeaux won the last fixture between this two just a week ago. In Ligue 1 terms the teams played out a 0-0 match earlier this year and this stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Nice. Just look at the stats; from the last five games Bordeaux have failed to win with Nice getting two wins and the teams drawing on three occasions. Based on recent matches the most common result is 1-1.
Bordeaux vs Nice: Prediction
Bordeaux has a psychological advantage here with gaining a victory just a few days ago over the same team. But Nice in cup matches just have not had the same motivation. They want this league and they crave it and we should see a very different performance from them in this game.
In Nice, we have a team when playing away from home have a back spine starting from defence to one up front. And the approach has been rather successful so far. With the home team in such poor form Nice should be able to capitalise on that.
Bordeaux vs Nice: Betting Tips
Nice to beat Bordeaux at 2/1 (3.00).
