Nice Vs Reims
Nice Vs Reims Sunday 8 August, 2021 – 14:00 (BST)
French Ligue 1
Pick: Nice Win
Odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: WilliamHill
(All betting odds correct at time of writingL 6 July 2021)
Preview: For the past two seasons, Nice have opened their Ligue 1 accounts at the Allianz Riviera on a winning note. So can Reims, who would earn a 0-0 draw on a visit here last term, put a stop to that particular run on Sunday?
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Table of Contents
Nice – With big spending comes big pressure?
Following another summer of lavish spending, there is once again an expectancy that Nice should do well in the season ahead. Luring the reigning Ligue 1 title-winning manager to the south of France was a real coup, while some of the player recruitment appears to have been well orchestrated with Justin Kluivert (on loan from Roma) and the permanent signing of Calvin Stengs exciting attacking additions.
Surpassing last season’s achievements should be a given therefore. Les Aiglons won just 15 of 38 games (39%) to finish down in ninth place. At one point in the campaign, though, they were languishing perilously close to the bottom three. It took a managerial shake up for the situation to eventually improve, with Romanian Adrian Ursea overseeing seven wins in the final Ligue 1 outings.
Ursea can also be credited with greatly improving the club’s home form. Five of seven wins at the Allianz Riviera in 2020-21 came post-Christmas. Christophe Galtier inherits a team with one loss in six home Ligue 1 matches (W4 D1) having found the net on two or more occasions in four. So there will be a quiet confidence they can pick up all three points from their opening home game for the third season running.
Reims – Another valiant underdog showing expected?
In sharp contrast to what is happening across the opposite end of the country, for Stade Reims it has been a frugal summer in the market. At the time of writing the club is still to fork out a fee for any incoming arrival, relying instead on loans (centre back Andreaw Gavillon has arrived from Inter Milan) and free transfers (goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau signing from Belgian side RSC Charleroi) to bolster their ranks.
For a team that laboured towards safety last time around, winning just two of sixteen matches and none of their final eight to finish down in 14th, it is perhaps safe to assume head coach Oscar Garcia has his work cut out extending the club’s Ligue 1 status into a fifth term. Particularly with their early schedule a brutal one on paper, with each of their first five opponents top-half sides last season.
Pertinently though, Les Rouges et Blancs’ record away to teams that finished tenth or better in 2020-21 was solid. Their only win in nine such fixtures was against eighth-placed Montpellier, but draws at Lens, Marseille, Monaco, Rennes and even here, in a 0-0 draw at the Allianz Riviera in April, are proof of this team’s capabilities to turn up and cause an upset as a visiting underdog.
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Nice Vs Reims Betting Advice
These teams could not have wrapped up the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season in more contrasting fashions if they tried. For Nice, there were positives to be had. A big win on the road against Lyon in the final round was arguably their most memorable victory of the entire campaign, giving them their seventh win in twelve (D2 L3). Conversely, Reims saw out the season winless in eight (D4 L4) having lost their final three match ups.
Nice Vs Reims – Key Facts:
- Both Ligue 1 encounters between the teams produced the same outcome in 2020-21 – goalless draws. In fact, four of the past five top-flight meetings ended in stalemate.
- If Nice, seeking to win their first home game for the third season running, are to win then goals are expected. All seven Ligue 1 home wins last season featured three or more goals.
- Reims also had a habit of slugging it out with the best last term, with draws away to Lens (4-4), Marseille (1-1), Monaco (2-2) and Rennes (2-2) not short on goal mouth incident.
Reading too much into last season, in particular results towards the very end, is clearly not the most reliable gauge for how these teams may start a fresh term. However, it is difficult to escape the contrasting paths these teams were treading. Factor in some exciting new additions to the playing squad, along with recruiting the best coach in the division last season, and a fifth win in seven Ligue 1 home games beckons for Nice.
Best Betting Odds – Nice Vs Reims
Nice – 10/11 (WilliamHill)
Draw – 5/2 (Betfair)
Reims – 10/3 (BetVictor)
