Ligue 1: Ex Boss Will Grant No Favours To Nice

Paris Saint-Germain vs Nice

Ligue 1 action returns to the Parc des Princes on Saturday when Christophe Gaultier’s Paris Saint-Germain entertains his former club Nice.

Gaultier spent a successful season with OGC Nice, leading the club to a fifth placed finish and a Coupe de France final place. In the close season he was head-hunted by the league champions and he has started well in the capital, winning seven of his first eight Ligue 1 games and both PSG’s Champions League openers, the first against Juventus.

But while things are looking good for Gaultier, the club he left behind is struggling down in 13^th place and all is not well on the South Coast, where head coach Lucien Favre is under mounting pressure.    

PSG come into the game on the back of a 1-0 victory away to Lyon, while Nice suffered defeat by the same score at home to Angers, and I fear more of the same for Favre’s team on Saturday.

Talking Points

Neymar is proving Mbappe wrong

At SBOTOP odds of 1.02 to win the Ligue 1 title it would be the biggest shock in world football if the Parisiens were to blow their domestic league, especially when you consider the galaxy of stars they have at their disposal.

But they don’t always get along. 

The pre-season Ligue 1 2022 news was dominated by the decision made by Kylian Mbappe to stay at the Parc des Princes in favour of a move to Real Madrid, and the ensuing dispute between him and team-mate Neymar, who Mbappe considered to be lacking in commitment. Now, the Brazilian striker has never been one to hide from a challenge and Neymar has scored eight goals in the league and made six assists while Mbappe has seven goals and no assists while Lionel Messi has four goals and seven assists.

So Neymar sits at the top of the race for the Golden Boot and he will be keen to point out that the current goal involvement record reads: Neymar 15, Messi 11, Mbappe seven. It’s a nice situation for head coach Christophe Gaultier, providing he can keep his feuding stars on the same page when they are in match action. 

But for us neutrals it’s box office stuff, and if France meet Brazil at the World Cup in Qatar that game will be a must see!

Off-field problems a distraction for Nice

Nice are at odds of 51.00 to win Ligue 1 without PSG in the mix and that seems a long price for one of France’s more successful clubs. But the four times league champions and three times Coupe de France winners are living on past glories as they struggle to cope in 2022. This time last year Nice were fourth with 14 points, six more than they have this season and so there is little wonder the Ligue 1 2022 betting odds don’t fancy the Aiglons. 

And there isn’t much good news coming out of the club at the moment. Nice will have to play their next European home game behind closed doors after they were reported to UEFA following clashes between fans which caused their game against Cologne to be delayed.

Nobody at the club is particularly happy. Favre has only been in the hot seat for three months and already reports are surfacing that the club’s owners are considering a move for Scott Parker, who was recently sacked by Premier League strugglers Bournemouth.

And the club’ summer marquee signing, Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been criticised for his attitude in France, and the 35 year old was dropped for Nice’s last outing. Marcin Bulka was preferred in the loss to Angers but the Danish stopper is expected to return to face the Parisiens.

Premier League fans will also recognise winger Nicolas Pepe, on loan from Arsenal, and former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley who could both make an appearance, while Welsh international Aaron Ramsay is injured.   

History

The head to heads between PSG and OGC Nice favour the Parisiens, but it has not been all one way traffic with a tally of 24 to 14 and ten draws in all competitions since 1994. 

Nice put PSG out of last year’s Coupe de France, at the Round of 16 stage, winning 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw at the Parc des Princes.

In terms of recent form, Paris have won all their last six games while Nice have won two, drawn two and lost two.

Betting Tip

Nice at 7.14 to Draw or 11.56 to win just doesn’t look likely while PSG at 1.15 does…but where is the value?

I think it may be in a match with three or fewer goals, particularly if Schmeichel gets the chance to make a point against the best strikers in France.     

Only their 3-1 Champions League win away to Maccabi has yielded more than three goals in PSG’s last six games, while over that period Nice’s fixtures have all produced fewer that three goals, apart from a 2-1 win away to Lille.   

 

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