Preview: Lyon vs Nice - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to extend their winning run across all competitions to a sensational 13 matches, Lyon welcome Nice to Groupama Stadium for a Ligue 1 clash on Sunday night.

Les Gones picked up a narrow away success at Nantes last time out, whilst Les Aiglons shared the spoils on home soil with midtable dwellers Monaco.

Match preview

After finishing sixth in consecutive seasons, Lyon are now on a mission to secure a top-three placement in Ligue 1 for the first time since 2018-19, with Sunday night's hosts currently in the midst of an impressive six-game winning run in the top flight.

Les Gones continued their excellent stretch of form with a one-goal triumph at the base of Nantes last Saturday afternoon, when summer arrival Pavel Sulc bagged his 10th league strike of the term on just his 19th appearance in the competition.

With their influential Czech Republic international firing and the entire team hitting their stride, Lyon have not dropped a single top-flight point so far in 2026 and sit third in the Ligue 1 rankings, nine points behind current pacesetters Paris Saint-Germain in first.

Unsurprisingly, Paulo Fonseca's troops are enjoying an excellent run in front of their own supporters, with Les Gones winning each of their last eight matches at Groupama Stadium across league, Coupe de France and Europa League action dating back to November 30.

In fact, you must cast your mind back to the start of November to find the last time Lyon suffered defeat at their Decines-Charpieu fortress, with Luis Enrqiue's Parisiens coming out on top of a five-goal thriller.

After a saddening first half of the 2025-26 campaign on the domestic scene, Nice are in serious danger of finishing outside of the top nine of Ligue 1 for the first time since 2015, although recent results suggest that this weekend's visitors could turn things around.

Across French and continental duties, Les Aiglons have lost just one of their last six matches, a spell which includes their first stalemate of the campaign last weekend, when Claude Puel's men played out a goalless draw with Monaco.

Since the sobering 5-1 loss at Toulouse on January 17, Nice have strung together a three-game unbeaten run (W1 D2) in the top flight and currently occupy 14th spot in the Ligue 1 rankings, sitting a sizeable nine points ahead of Auxerre in 16th position.

A first clean sheet in any form since late October last time out is a highly-encouraging sign for Les Aiglons, who have conceded 38 goals across 21 top-tier contests this term, with only bottom side Metz (46) allowing more strikes at this stage.

Despite losing three of the most recent quartet of Ligue 1 battles between Sunday's pairing, Nice have the freshest memories of success in this matchup, with goals from Melvin Bard, Sofiane Diop and Hicham Boudaoui helping Franck Haise's side to a triumph back in October.

Lyon Ligue 1 form: W W W W W W

Lyon form (all competitions): W W W W W W

Nice Ligue 1 form: L D L W D D

Nice form (all competitions): W W L D W D

Team News

After picking up two yellow cards during the win at Nantes last weekend, Lyon's loanee star Endrick is suspended for Sunday night's clash at Groupama Stadium.

Les Gones' options at the top of the pitch are reduced further by the absence of Malick Fofana, with the Belgium international nursing an ankle injury.

Heading towards the 300-game mark in the colours of Lyon, influential midfielder Corentin Tolisso is a doubt due to a hamstring problem.

Scoring his only goal in the current Ligue 1 campaign in the reverse fixture, Nice's Boudaoui (back) is sidelined for this weekend's battle.

A former Premier League midfielder on the books of Aston Villa, Morgan Sanson is a doubt after picking up an ankle injury during the draw with Monaco.

A certain starter at centre-back when fit, Frenchman Bard is expected back at the end of this month from a groin issue.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Grief; Maitland-Niles, Mata, Niakhate, Abner; Tessman, Morton, Nartey; Moreira, Karabec, Sulc

Nice possible starting lineup:

Kohn; Teze, Zakaria, Kehrer; Diatta, Camara, Bamba, Adingra; Akliouche, Golovin, Balogun

We say: Lyon 2-0 Nice

Last losing at Groupama Stadium on November 9, Lyon will be supremely confident of extending their record-breaking winning run against Nice on Sunday night.

Les Aiglons enjoyed a first clean sheet in 2026 last weekend, however there is unlikely to be such defensive solidity from the visitors this time around.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.