Last season’s 5th placed finishers in an albeit shortened Ligue 1 campaign, Nice, will be keen to go a step better this time around and claim a top four finish in the French top flight this term, and they have a good fixture to start their season off as they welcome newcomers, Lens, to their Allianz Riviera on Sunday.
Nice went into the enforced lockdown on the back of a promising four-match unbeaten run in Ligue 1 which included wins against Toulouse and Monaco and the hosts had actually suffered just one defeat out of their final 12 matches which was a disappointing loss at home to Nimes.
Nevertheless, Nice had lost just once in the last 10 matches on home turf at their Allianz Riviera, while also picking up six victories in the process which included wins against Reims, Angers, Metz, Toulouse, Lyon and Monaco - the latter being against the 7th and 9th placed teams in the division.
With just four defeats out of their last 29 matches at home in Ligue 1, Nice look to have the superior pedigree at this level than visitors, Lens, whom they beat 2-1 at home in the last meeting back in 2015.
Onto Lens then, and the visitors can count themselves somewhat fortunate as they claimed automatic promotion by the skin of their teeth by a one-point margin over 3rd placed Ajaccio, just as the Ligue 2 season was cut short.
Following worrying back-to-back defeats against Chateauroux and Caen in 3-2 and 4-1 defeats respectively, Lens steadied the ship by recording back-to-back wins over Paris FC and Orleans and this proved to be just enough to secure them a place in this season’s Ligue 1 campaign.
However, results away from home were unconvincing in the run-in to last season’s promotion campaign as Lens picked up just three wins out of their last 10 matches on their travels in the French second tier which were at Rodez, Ajaccio and Paris FC, but four defeats within this sequence could spell trouble on Sunday at Nice.
Lens will certainly be desperate to avoid a repeat of their dismal results away from home in their last Ligue 1 campaign as the visitors failed to win any of their final 13 matches away from home, losing 10 of these.
Place au jeu💥🔴⚫️#IssaNissa #OGCNice pic.twitter.com/Cb0q8Mt0AJ— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) August 20, 2020
Place au jeu💥🔴⚫️#IssaNissa #OGCNice pic.twitter.com/Cb0q8Mt0AJ
Nice therefore look in good shape to collect the points on Sunday.