Nice vs Le Mans - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides inactive seeking their archetypal wins of the caller Ligue 1 run volition quadrate disconnected connected Saturday arsenic Nice invited Le Mans to Allianz Riviera successful the southbound of France.

After 2 matchdays, these teams each person a azygous point, with Nice losing 3-0 to Paris FC past Sunday and Les Mucistes suffering a constrictive 3-2 decision astatine Rennes.

Match preview

After hardly escaping relegation a play ago, Nice are successful aboriginal information of dropping down into Ligue 2 for the moment, sitting 2nd from the bottom.

On Saturday, they could driblet points successful their opening 3 apical formation fixtures for the archetypal clip since the 2023-24 campaign.

They person scored a extremity oregon less successful their past 11 Ligue 1 affairs successful 2025-26 and person continued to conflict successful beforehand of extremity this season, arsenic Olivier Pantaloni’s men are the lone squad successful this contention that person yet to find the backmost of the net.

Clearly they are lacking creativity, arsenic they person the associated second-fewest large chances successful Ligue 1 truthful far, portion boasting the third-highest mean possession (57.4%).

While their onslaught has been poor, defensively they person been beardown astatine location successful league play, without a extremity conceded successful their past 2 home contests astatine Allianz Riviera.

Saturday volition beryllium their archetypal location crippled successful the league versus Le Mans since 2009, with Les Aiglons earning astatine slightest a constituent successful their past 5 apical formation affairs against them connected location soil.

While they proceed to hunt for that elusive archetypal triumph successful the apical formation this season, determination are immoderate encouraging signs astatine Le Mans aboriginal on.

After earning a constituent successful their opener, they came from 2-0 down against a beardown Rennes side, lone to concede the victor heavy into stoppage time.

A triumph for them this play would beryllium their archetypal successful this contention for implicit 16 years and their archetypal distant from location since blanking Valenciennes 1-0 successful April of 2010.

Dating backmost to past season’s Ligue 2 campaign, Patrick Videira’s broadside are unbeaten successful their past 7 distant matches domestically, squandering a second-half vantage connected matchday 1 to assertion gully versus Brest (2-2).

Only erstwhile successful 2026 person they gone connected to suffer a league fixture erstwhile netting the opening goal, with Montpellier beating them 4-2 successful Ligue 2 enactment successful February.

This play they tin cod conscionable their 2nd distant triumph implicit Nice this century, though they person points successful 3 of those past 4 visits against them.

Nice Ligue 1 form:

Le Mans Ligue 1 form:

Team News

Nice volition beryllium without Laurent Abergel connected Saturday arsenic helium recovers from a cruciate ligament tear, portion Morgan Sanson and Ali Abdi are dealing with injuries.

Moise Bombito mightiness not beryllium acceptable to instrumentality from his limb issue, portion Salis Abdul Samed and Hicham Boudaoui are questionable owed to knocks.

At Le Mans, Samuel Yohou whitethorn beryllium sidelined due to the fact that of a little limb problem, Nicolas Kocik wounded his ankle connected matchday two, Erwan Colas is dealing with a knock, Yasser Larouci has a caput wounded and Djibril Sidibe volition beryllium suspended.

Louis Mafouta had a brace successful a losing effort past week, putting him successful a three-way necktie for archetypal successful Ligue 1 heading into this weekend’s enactment with three.

Nice imaginable starting lineup:

Diouf; Mandza, Ndayishimiye, Abdelmonem; Clauss, Coulibaly, Witsel, Jansson; Hein, Diop; Wahi

Le Mans imaginable starting lineup:

Hatfout; Eyoum, Boisse, Voyer; Lauray; Buades, Vercruysse, Bourabaa, Calodat; Gueye, Mafouta

We say: Nice 1-2 Le Mans

It whitethorn inactive beryllium aboriginal days, but Nice person yet to amusement they person bounced backmost from their dismal 2025-26 campaign, and against an upstart Le Mans side, who person proven to beryllium unsafe successful the attacking third, we deliberation the location squad whitethorn flounder successful captious moments.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.