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Monaco
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 23
Feb 3, 2021 at 8pm UK
Stade Louis II
Nice

Monaco
2 - 1
Nice

Ben Yedder (28' pen., 51')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Lees-Melou (47')
Todibo (17'), Claude Maurice (34'), Schneiderlin (40'), Lotomba (50')

Preview: Monaco vs. Nice - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Ligue 1 clash between Monaco and Nice, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Monaco will be aiming to win their sixth game on the bounce in Ligue 1 when they play host to Nice at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday evening.

Les Monegasques eked out a vital 2-1 win over Nantes on Sunday to keep pace with the title-chasing pack, whereas Nice's poor form continued with defeat to Saint-Etienne.


Match preview

Monaco manager Niko Kovac pictured in December 2020© Reuters

As the most in-form team currently plying their trade in the French top flight, Monaco have now emerged as serious contenders for the Ligue 1 title.

No other side in the division can boast a perfect record from their opening five matches of 2021, with Monaco taking 15 points from a possible 15 since the turn of the year after a wholly inconsistent first half of the season.

Against a struggling Nantes team, defender Guillermo Maripan netted his fourth goal in five matches with the opener before Kevin Volland notched up his 11th of the season in the second half, and Monaco held on for the win over the 10-man Canaris even though Renaud Emond pulled one back in the final 10 minutes.

Having also beaten Lorient, Angers, Montpellier and Marseille in January, Monaco are now just six points off the pace in the race for Ligue 1 glory, and champions Paris Saint-Germain are within touching distance after their shock defeat to Lorient.

However, PSG's superior goal difference means that they are highly unlikely to be overtaken just yet, but goals are Monaco's forte at home, as they have netted at least twice in nine of their 11 league games on familiar territory so far.

Nice's Pierre Lees-Melou celebrates with teammates after scoring against AS Monaco on November 8, 2020© Reuters

Before Nice welcomed Saint-Etienne to the Allianz Riviera at the weekend, Les Verts had only won one of their last 18 matches in the top flight, but they made it two from 19 with a surprise victory over Adrian Ursea's side.

An 88th-minute winner from Charles Abi condemned Nice to their ninth loss of the season as well as extending their winless home run to nine matches across all competitions - with eight of those ending in defeat for Les Aiglons.

Despite their abysmal record on familiar territory, Nice's away record is rather respectable, as they have only lost one of their last eight league matches on the road - keeping clean sheets in five of them - but their recent victory at Lens was down to some individual brilliance from the now-injured Youcef Atal.

However, with just a solitary win to boast from their last seven in the top flight, Nice have slipped to 13th in the table, although they should not be in any danger of being dragged into a relegation dogfight as eight points separate them from the drop zone.

Monaco scraped a 2-1 win on Nice's turf in the reverse fixture on November 8, and Les Monegasques have only suffered one defeat to their opponents on home soil since 2009.

Monaco Ligue 1 form: DWWWWW

Nice Ligue 1 form: DLDLWL


Team News

AS Monaco's Guillermo Maripan celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on January 23, 2021© Reuters

Monaco will welcome Ruben Aguilar back from suspension for this game, and the Frenchman could come straight back into the fold for recent arrival Krepin Diatta.

The hosts are still without the injured Cesc Fabregas and Gelson Martins, but Florentino has fully recovered from coronavirus to bolster Kovac's midfield options.

Kovac could elect to name a largely unchanged lineup amid their winning run, but Aleksandr Golovin is pushing for more minutes after numerous substitute outings.

Nice will continue to make do without Atal for another couple of weeks with his hamstring problem, and midfielder Hicham Boudaoui is suspended for this tie.

The void left by Boudaoui should be filled by Khephren Thuram, and Kovac also expects Rony Lopes and Morgan Schneiderlin to be involved this week.

Whether the duo are fit enough to make the starting lineup remains to be seen, but Lopes is unlikely to displace Kasper Dolberg or Amine Gouiri up top either way.

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Sidibe, Maripan, Badiashile, Henrique; Aguilar, Tchouameni, Fofana, Diop; Ben Yedder, Volland

Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Saliba, Daniliuc, Nsoki; Thuram; Lotomba, Lees Melou, Reine-Adelaide, Kamara; Dolberg, Gouiri


SM words green background

We say: Monaco 3-0 Nice

A meeting with Monaco in their current form would strike fear into the hearts of almost any team right now, and Nice are no exception. The visitors have performed much better on the road than on their own turf so far, but trying to get one over a blistering Monaco outfit will be a bridge too far for Ursea's men, so this should be a straightforward home win.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



ID:433033:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8998:
Written by
Ben Knapton

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Monaco win with a probability of 59.25%. A draw had a probability of 21.8% and a win for Nice had a probability of 18.91%.

The most likely scoreline for a Monaco win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.06%) and 2-1 (9.94%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.33%), while for a Nice win it was 0-1 (5.37%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Monaco would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Monaco vs Nice

Monaco
88.9%
Draw
9.7%
Nice
1.4%
72
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG14104037112634
2Marseille1593332181430
3MonacoMonaco1593324121230
4Lille1576225151027
5Lyon147432617925
6Lens156631914524
7Nice146532617923
8Auxerre156362323021
9Toulouse156361717021
10Reims155552018220
11Brest145182026-616
12Rennes144281820-214
13NantesNantes143561620-414
14StrasbourgStrasbourg143562227-514
15Angers143471424-1013
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne1541101234-2213
17Le HavreLe Havre1440101126-1512
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier1422101336-238


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