Nice and Lyon both remain winless in 2023-24 as they prepare to lock horns at the Allianz Riviera on Sunday evening.
While the hosts registered another 1-1 draw last time out, the visitors suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Montpellier HSC.
Match preview
Nice appeared to be heading for victory over Lille on the opening weekend as they carried a 1-0 lead into second-half stoppage time, but a 94th-minute equaliser from Bafode Diakite saw Les Aiglons share the spoils with Les Dogues.
Francesco Farioli's side also found themselves 1-0 up against Lorient last time out, courtesy of Evann Guessand's strike midway through the second half, but they failed to hold onto their advantage once again, with Sirine Doucoure equalising for Les Merlus.
It is worth noting, however, that Nice dominated proceedings at the Stade du Moustoir, registering 21 shots while enjoying the lion's share of the ball, so they can count themselves unlucky to have been held to a second successive 1-1 draw.
Under both Lucien Favre and Didier Digard, Les Aiglons were wildly inconsistent on home soil last term, recording seven wins, seven draws and five losses in 19 league games at the Allianz Riviera.
Naturally, Francesco Farioli will be determined to transform the Allianz Riviera into a fortress this season, but the 34-year-old Italian will have to win over the Nice fans before that happens, given that he arrived at the club with very little credit in the bank.
Lyon's season went from bad to worse as they were crushed 4-1 by Montpellier last time out, with that defeat following a 2-1 loss against Strasbourg on the opening weekend of the Ligue 1 campaign.
Despite racking up 65% possession and 23 shots against Strasbourg, Laurent Blanc's men were unable to make the most of their dominance, while the hosts converted their only two attempts on target into goals.
Les Gones experienced the same problems last weekend as they failed to take advantage of their superiority over Montpellier, who found themselves 3-0 up midway through the second half before Alexandre Lacazette scored and received a red card in the space of 11 minutes.
Although Lyon enjoyed the lion's share of the ball once again, they managed to register just three attempts on target, while Montpellier amassed 14 shots at Groupama Stadium, nine of which were on target.
To make matters worse for Les Gones, they failed to win any of their final four pre-season friendlies, managing a grand total of zero goals in the process, so Blanc's mean head into Sunday's showdown on a six-game losing streak.
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Team News
Nice will be without Antoine Mendy and Alexis Claude-Maurice this weekend as they continue to recover from pre-season injuries, while Jeremie Boga is a doubt for Sunday after missing the previous game due to a thigh problem.
Despite plenty of transfer noise, highly-rated youngster Khephren Thuram looks set to remain in Les Aiglons' starting XI, joining Pablo Rosario and Morgan Sanson in a three-man midfield.
Veter defender Dante - who turns 40 in October - will continue alongside Youssouf Ndayishimiye at centre-back, with Youcef Atal and Melvin Bard expected to occupy the full-back spots.
With Alexandre Lacazette suspended following his red card against Montpellier, Bradley Barcola could lead the line for Lyon, with new signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming into the starting XI.
Laurent Blanc will likely be tempted to ring the changes after starting the season with back-to-back losses, although he cannot call upon the injured trio of Dejan Lovren, Anthony Lopes and Clinton Mata.
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Attal, Ndayishimiye, Dante, Bard; Sanson, Rosario, Thuram; Laborde, Guessand, Diop
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Riou; Kumbedi, Caleta-Car, Diomande, Tagliafico; Caqueret, Lepenant; Maitland-Niles, Cherki, Jeffinho; Barcola
We say: Nice 2-1 Lyon
Given that Lyon have already suffered two disappointing defeats this term - conceding six goals along the way - we expect the visitors to record a third successive loss at the expense of Nice.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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