Having returned to winning ways in Ligue 1 following the international break, Nice prepare to welcome Metz to the Allianz Riviera on Saturday night.

Christophe Galtier's side sunk newly-promoted Clermont 2-1 in gameweek 14, while the visitors played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Bordeaux.

Match preview

As he has done so often over the past year, Amine Gouiri well and truly saved Nice's bacon against Clermont last time out, with Pascal Gastien's side heading into half time 1-0 up thanks to captain Florent Ogier's header with 17 minutes gone.

It was a day to forget for Clermont shot-stopper Ouparine Djoco on his first-ever Ligue 1 appearance, as the 23-year-old let Gouiri's tame effort slip through his hands in the second half, but there was nothing he could do about the attacker's sublime winner with eight minutes remaining.

Gouiri's seventh and eighth goals of the Ligue 1 season sees him sit second in the Ligue 1 top-scorer charts behind Jonathan David and level with Gaetan Laborde - overtaking Kylian Mbappe in the process - and Nice have risen back up to second following that 1-0 win.

Les Aiglons remain a whopping 11 points behind runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, though, and Rennes, Lens and Marseille are all within touching distance and ready to take advantage of any further slip-ups from Galtier's side.

The hosts also head into Saturday's game having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five on home soil - a statistic that Metz will aim to exploit after their goal-laden showing versus Bordeaux.

The attackers stole the show in more ways than one for Metz during Sunday's visit of Bordeaux, but Frederic Antonetti's side were on the back foot heading into half time following strikes from Alberth Elis and Remi Oudin at the Stade Saint-Symphorien.

Nicolas De Preville and Opa Nguette drew the hosts level before Oudin restored Bordeaux's lead and Farid Boulaya was sent off, but 10-man Metz refused to wave the white flag, as Nguette headed in his second of the afternoon to rescue a point for his side.

The six-goal thriller with Bordeaux represented Metz's third draw in succession in the top flight - while also extending their winless streak to six matches - and they remain bottom of the table as a result with just nine points to their name this term.

Antonetti's men may have displayed a greater sense of resilience in recent weeks, but they are the only team in the division yet to hit the 10-point mark and have already shipped 30 goals this season - the joint-most in the league alongside Bordeaux.

Metz actually prevailed 2-1 in the most recent meeting with Nice at the Allianz Riviera back in February and held Les Aiglons to a 1-1 draw earlier in the campaign, and interestingly, both teams have scored in six of the last seven meetings between the two clubs.

Team News

Nice defender Dante returns from suspension for the visit of Metz and should demote Flavius Daniliuc down to the bench, while Pablo Rosario will sit out the midweek meeting with Paris Saint-Germain but is available here.

The luckless Youcef Atal is once again on the sidelines with a muscular problem, where he is joined by ankle victims Robson Bambu and Evann Guessand, but there is hope over Hicham Boudaoui's availability.

Justin Kluivert, Alexis Claude-Maurice and Calvin Stengs are all pushing for more opportunities on the right-hand side, where Lucas Da Cunha's spot could come under threat this weekend.

Metz attacker Boulaya has been hit with a three-game ban including a suspended match for kicking out at Yacine Adli in the Bordeaux draw, so two-goal substitute Nguette should certainly start here.

Centre-back Jemerson is back from a ban of his own and could displace Sikou Niakate in the three-man rearguard, with the 22-year-old lasting just 31 minutes of last weekend's stalemate.

Niakate's muscular problems and Habib Maiga's calf injury will keep both men out of this battle, while Matthieu Udol and Manuel Cabit continue their recoveries from long-term injuries.

Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Lotomba, Todibo, Dante, Bard; Stengs, Lemina, Thuram, Gouiri; Delort, Dolberg

Metz possible starting lineup:
Oukidja; Jemerson, Bronn, Kouyate; Centonze, Sarr, N'Doram, Delaine; Nguette, De Preville; Niane

We say: Nice 2-0 Metz

Nice were arguably fortunate to walk away from their encounter with Clermont with all three points in the bag, and Galtier cannot expect his side to blow away Metz with ease.

However, the visitors just cannot keep the back door shut and will have a hard time breaking down this Aiglons defence, so we can only back the hosts to post back-to-back wins in routine fashion.

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