Fresh from another memorable win over runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, Nice will aim to tighten their grip on a podium spot in Ligue 1 when they take on Montpellier HSC on Saturday.
While Les Aiglons saw off PSG 1-0 in gameweek 27, Montpellier's downfall continued with a 2-0 defeat away to surprise package Nantes.
Match preview
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With their perfect December now a distant memory, things have gone from bad to worse for Olivier Dall'Oglio at Montpellier, who were no match for a European-chasing Nantes outfit at the Stade de la Beaujoire last weekend.
After a goalless 69 minutes, Randal Kolo Muani headed home before Willem Geubbels finished off a sweeping counter-attack with seconds remaining on the clock, and Montpellier's bid to secure a top-half finish has taken hit after hit in recent weeks.
Having suffered five defeats from their last six in all competitions and four from their last five in Ligue 1, La Paillade enter the weekend down in 11th in the standings with three points separating them from 10th-placed Lens, who are gearing up for a very winnable fixture against Metz.
Incredibly, Montpellier have not posted a single draw in any competition since October, but only two of their last nine games across Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France have ended in victory, with Stephy Mavididi's spell out of action certainly harming them.
Montpellier are never ones for low-scoring affairs at the Stade de la Mosson - scoring 24 and conceding 18 on home soil so far this term - but they have not kept a clean sheet on familiar territory in five Ligue 1 games and are fighting an uphill battle to glean a positive result here.
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It may not matter too much in the grand scheme of things, but Nice assured PSG that they are a force to be reckoned with for future seasons under Christophe Galtier, who had already ended Les Parisiens' Coupe de France run before last Saturday's Allianz Riviera battle.
With the two sides seemingly set to shake hands on a point, Andy Delort came off the bench to net the all-important winner in the 88th minute of the contest, but any hopes of Nice going on to challenge PSG for the Ligue 1 crown are surely nothing but mere fantasies.
The second-placed Aiglons have cut the gap to leaders PSG to 13 points after last weekend's win and also find themselves two points clear of third-placed Marseille, so they are truly staking their claim to be the best of the rest and seal a coveted Champions League place.
The 1-0 win over PSG also marked Nice's fourth clean sheet on the bounce in all competitions as they seek to avoid a third consecutive game without a win on the road, but a tally of just seven goals conceded in away matches is the best record in the division - a marked improvement from their 2020-21 fortunes.
However, Montpellier claimed a 1-0 win at the Allianz Riviera earlier this season and have triumphed in each of their last four against Les Aiglons at the Stade de la Mosson since a 1-1 draw in September 2016 - the most recent stalemate between the sides.
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Team News
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Montpellier attacker Mavididi is once again set to miss out at the weekend as he battles back from a sprained knee, while defender Mamadou Sakho's thigh issue will likely keep him out as well.
Long-term ACL victims Pedro Mendes and Thibault Tamas also remain on the sidelines, but Dall'Oglio will at least be boosted by the return of right-back Arnaud Souquet from a one-game ban.
Souquet will hope to earn an immediate recall to the right flank over Junior Sambia this week, as Elye Wahi shoulders the goalscoring burden in the absence of Mavididi.
As for Nice, Youcef Atal (collarbone) and Jordan Amavi (knee) have been pictured back in training with the Aiglons this week, but both defenders will surely only be considered for spots on the bench.
Galtier did not pick up any fresh concerns in the PSG win and now has some big calls to make in the final third, with substitutes Delort and Calvin Stengs combining for the winner against the league leaders.
Stengs may be in with a chance of displacing Justin Kluivert or Khephren Thuram out wide, but Delort may have to settle for another bench outing as Amine Gouiri and Kasper Dolberg lead the line.
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Cozza, Esteve, Thuler; Souquet, Ferri, Chotard, Oyongo; Mollet, Savanier; Wahi
Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Daniliuc, Todibo, Dante, Bard; Kluivert, Rosario, Lemina, Stengs; Gouiri, Dolberg
We say: Montpellier HSC 0-2 Nice
A Montpellier side without their main goal threat attempting to break down a Nice backline seeking their fifth consecutive clean sheet surely only spells one result on Saturday.
While La Paillade go through a sticky patch, Nice have been nothing if not resilient despite failing to blow their opponents away, so a straightforward Aiglons success is the only result we can picture.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Montpellier HSC win with a probability of 37.9%. A win for Nice had a probability of 35.85% and a draw had a probability of 26.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Montpellier HSC win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.32%) and 2-0 (6.45%). The likeliest Nice win was 0-1 (9.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.47%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.3% likelihood.
