Nice experienced a shake-up in the offseason with manager Christophe Galtier leaving the club and joining Paris Saint-Germain after just one season.
Former manager Lucien Favre returned to the club and Nice’s hierarchy will hope the familiar hands of the manager will guide the team to a top-three finish.
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🦅 OGC Nice 2022-2023 💪🔴⚫️ pic.twitter.com/WokdNq1egz
Up first for Nice are Toulouse. Les Violets earned promotion from Ligue 2 last season and are back in the top flight after two seasons in the second division.
The last six matches between these French rivals saw the games split down the middle. Nice posted a record of 2W-2D-2L in all competitions. The Eagles outscored Toulouse 8-7 across those six games with a total of 16 yellow cards.
Nice have signed several players this offseason with the aim of finishing higher up the table. The Eagles’ biggest signing was that of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from Leicester City.
Schmeichel signed on the Thursday prior to the season kicking off. He will likely go straight into the starting XI.
Joining Schmeichel on the French Riviera is midfielder Aaron Ramsey. He signed on a free transfer after his Juventus contract expired.
Toulouse are looking for goals this season upon their return to Ligue 1. Les Violets signed forward Thijs Dallinga from Dutch club Excelsior. Right winger Zakaria Aboukhal also joined the French side.
Manager Philippe Montanier prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation. Toulouse will work hard to slow down the Nice attack, which scored 52 goals and conceded 36 times.
Thanks to Galtier’s defence-first tactics, Nice conceded the joint-lowest number of goals last season. Favre isn’t known for his defensive tactics. His most recent managerial jobs in German left Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund in tatters after leaving.
Both clubs are still trying to workout defensive issues that have been blamed on Favre. Don’t expect Nice to have the same strong defence that they did last season. The Eagles may be more willing to attack first under Favre.
Favre previously managed Nice from 2016 to 2018. He had a 42.42-win percentage at the club. Despite the changes over the summer, Nice will be confident of a win thanks to playing newly-promoted Toulouse on opening day.
Nice should post a victory against the home side on matchday No. 1. It should be a low scoring game with the Eagles soaring to the win. Andy Delort led Nice in goals last season and the striker should get on the scoresheet anytime this weekend.