Nice take on Monaco in the French Riviera derby on Sunday.

Neither side have started their Ligue 1 campaigns as they would have wanted, having both picked up five points from five matches.

Match preview

© Reuters

However, Nice did record their first league victory of the season with a 2-1 win away to Lille last time out, with Lucien Favre finally off the mark having succeeded Christophe Galtier during the summer.

Jonathan Bamba had provided the hosts with a 20th-minute lead but the visitors quickly fought back through a penalty apiece from Andy Delort and Nicolas Pepe, who has joined on loan from Arsenal for the season.

Indeed, there are plenty of familiar faces to Premier League watchers competing for Nice this season, with Favre also signing Kasper Schmeichel, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Bryan and Mads Bech Sorensen. Gaetan Laborde has joined from Rennes with Amine Gouiri going in the other direction, with Sofiane Diop perhaps representing their headline signing for £19m from Monaco, their forthcoming opponents on Sunday.

On paper, then, Nice's squad appears to be one stacked with talent, but with so many new faces on and off the pitch, it could take time for them to gel together. Favre will hope their crucial victory in midweek will stand them in good stead for the Derby de la Cote d'Azur, though.

© Reuters

Monaco, meanwhile, represent a more settled unit having had eight months with Philippe Clement in their dugout, although the big-money sales of Aurelien Tchouameni and Diop have left a significant void to fill in terms of talent.

Mohamed Camara, Takumi Minamino and Breel Embolo were Monaco's only permanent summer signings during the transfer window, with matters off the pitch perhaps contributing to their Russian president Dmitry Rybolovlev tightening the purse strings somewhat.

While a talented group of players undoubtedly still remain at the club, matching last season's third-placed finish in Ligue 1 could prove to be a tricky task for Clement to achieve, especially with Lyon looking much closer to their best during the early weeks of the campaign.

Back-to-back home defeats to Lens and Troyes have hardly inspired confidence, either, especially with Clement's side losing discipline in the form of red cards in both matches, although their impressive 1-1 draw away to Paris Saint-Germain in between those 4-1 and 4-2 defeats respectively at Stade Louis II will provide hope that they can deliver on the road again on Sunday.

Team News

© Reuters

Nice will remain without midfielder Mario Lemina after his straight red card against Clermont Foot, while Diop could miss out against his former club with a muscle strain.

Kasper Dolberg (shoulder) and Hicham Boudaoui (back) are unlikely to return to action until later in September, meaning Favre may pick the same XI which defeated Lille in midweek.

Monaco, meanwhile, will travel without Guillermo Maripan after the defender's dismissal against Troyes on Wednesday.

Benoit Badiashile is likely to replace him at the heart of the defence, while Aleksandr Golovin could replace Minamino as the side's creative fulcrum having only appeared from the bench in the defeat in midweek.

Kevin Volland remains sidelined with an ankle injury, while Yilan Okou, Willem Geubbels and Myron Boadu are all unlikely to travel, too.

Nice possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Todibo, Dante, Viti; Attal, Ramsey, Rosario, Thuram, Bard; Pepe, Delort

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Disasi, Badiashile, Sarr; Vanderson, Fofana, Camara, Jakobs; Golovin; Embolo, Ben Yedder

We say: Nice 2-2 Monaco

Both teams to score has occurred in each of Monaco's five league games so far this season, and we expect that to continue in Sunday's Riviera derby.

Neither side look settled yet this season but they both have bags of offensive talent to cause each other plenty of issues.

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

Written by
Brett Curtis

Previews by email