Nice host Reims in Ligue 1 on Sunday, with the visitors hoping to avoid a repeat of the relegation battle which they were dragged into last season.

Nice, meanwhile, will be hoping to challenge for the European places having attracted Lille's title-winning manager Christophe Galtier to the club.

Match preview

Nice have pulled off quite the coup to bring Galtier to the club after the 54-year-old's miracle workings at Lille last season.

After struggling to hit the heights which Nice's playing staff are capable of under Patrick Vieira and Adrian Ursea last season, Galtier brings a wealth of experience and quality with him, demonstrated by him winning Ligue 1 Manager of the Year on three separate occasions in his career.

He has been backed in the transfer market, too, with the club spending around double the £17m they have received on Wylan Cyprien, Stanley Nsoki and Pierre Lees Melou to bring eight players in.

There has been a clear emphasis on youth, with Patrick Kluivert and Jean-Clair Todibo particularly eye-catching signings, while 27-year-old Mario Lemina has the potential to hold down the middle of the pitch for Galtier's side.

As such, confidence is high ahead of Sunday's season opener against Reims, who are the type of team Nice will need to be putting away on a consistent basis if they are to achieve their aims this season and improve on last season's ninth-placed finish.

It would be fair to say that Reims' transfer business has been far less impressive than their forthcoming opponents so far during the window, with star striker Boulaye Dia sold to Villarreal for around £10m.

Dia, who scored 14 league goals last season, leaves a sizable dearth of goals behind him given that none of his teammates even hit the back of the net five times in Ligue 1 last season.

Oscar Garcia, who last managed Celta Vigo, has replaced David Guion in the dugout, but so far his only two signings have been 40-year-old goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau on a free transfer and central defender Andrew Gravillon, who impressed at Lorient last season, on loan from Inter Milan.

Given that Reims only survived relegation by two points last season, having ended the season in dismal form, it could be a long, hard season ahead for the club if further additions are not made between now and the end of August.

Team News

Nice will be without Alexis Claude-Maurice after his fibula fracture in May, but the midfielder is reportedly recovering ahead of schedule and may even return to action after September's international break.

Kasper Dolberg is yet to feature in pre-season after his superb exploits with Denmark at Euro 2020, during which he scored three goals for his country, so may only be utilised from the substitutes' bench.

New signings Todibo, Kluivert and Pablo Rosario all started in Nice's 1-1 friendly draw against AC Milan last weekend so should do so again, with Lemina potentially having to make an impact from the bench, too.

Reims, meanwhile, were dealt a terrible blow by Arber Zeneli's cruciate ligament rupture last weekend, with the 26-year-old now a doubt to feature at all this season.

It remains to be seen which player Garcia entrusts to fill the void of Dia in attack, with huge pressure likely to be placed on 19-year-old El Bilal Toure's young shoulders after impressing in flashes last season.

Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Attal, Todibo, Dante, Kamara; Da Cunha, Rosario, Thuram, Kluivert; Ndoye, Gouiri

Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Foket, Faes, Abdelhamid, Konan; Mbuku, Cassama, Chavalerin, Cafaro; Doumbia, Toure

We say: Nice 2-0 Reims

Nice have made some seriously impressive moves this summer, both on and off the pitch, so we expect them to have too much class for Reims.

The visitors have failed to replace last season's top goalscorer Dia so far during the transfer window, which does not spell good news for their survival hopes after only narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

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