Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Nice and St Etienne go head to head at Allianz Riviera in a postponed Ligue 1 game. Nice aim to make amends for the Coupe de France final defeat to Nantes, but they could be low on spirits in Wednesday’s clash. Both Youcef Atal and Alexis Claude-Maurice remain in the recovery room, but there are no fresh injury worries in the home team. Les Verts, on the other hand, aim to escape the relegation zone.
St Etienne are likely to stick to their attacking style of play, and seeing that the Europa League-chasing hosts will go for a win as well, we are tempted to put our money on over 2.5 goals. In the first half of the season Nice defeated St Etienne 3-0, which is yet another reason why a high-scoring affair is on the horizon. The bad news for the visitors is that Wahbi Khazri is out of contention.
Highlighted Player (Kasper Dolberg):
Standing at 6ft 2-inches, the tall forward kicked-off his youth career with GFG Voel in Denmark in 2005 and spent five years with them before joining hometown club Silkeborg IF at the age of 13. At Silkeborg, Dolberg quickly rose through the ranks and made his professional debut on the 17th of May, 2015, as a 66th substitute against Brondby in the Danish Superliga.
At the start of the 16/17 season, Dolberg signed for Eredivisie giants AFC Ajax on a three-year deal after impressing the clubs' renowned scouting network. He scored his first professional goal on the 26th of July, 2016, in Ajax's 1-1 draw with PAOK Thessaloniki in a UEFA Champions League Qualifier match. In what was a prolific spell at de Godenzonen, Dolberg made 119 appearances and scored 45 goals for the club. Born on the 6th of October, 1997, the 22-year-old is currently on a five-year contract with French club Nice that in August 2019.
Dolberg is additionally a former Denmark youth International, having represented his country at every youth level. For the senior team, the striker made his debut on the 11th of November, 2016, and has earned 13 caps so far.
Highlighted Team (St Etienne):
Saint Etienne are a professional football club that compete in French Ligue 1. Les Verts were founded in 1919 by employees of a grocery store chain based in Saint Etienne. Saint Etienne wear green shirts and white shorts when playing at home ground and they play their home matches at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
The stadium was opener on 13 September, 1931 and following the renovation the capacity of the venue increased to 42 000. In 1981 les Verts won their tenth Ligue 1 trophy, but they have been in the shadow of Ligue 1 giants Lyon and PSG in the 21st century.
Speaking of the club’s European success, Saint Etienne made it to the European Cup (Champions League) final in 1976, but Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich proved to be a big catch for the French outfit. Anyhow, that is regarded as the club’s biggest success. It has to be noted that the likes of Michel Platini, Jacques Santini, Laurent Blanc and Aime Jacquet all played for Saint Etienne in the past.