Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Nice
Match Time & Date:
19/03/2023
15:00
Prediction: 1-0
Lorient
Following a 2-2 draw with Nantes, Nice will look to return to winning ways in the Ligue 1 when they face Lorient on Matchday 28. Les Aiglons are eager to represent France in European competitions for yet another term, but they will have to be at their sharpest in the season finale if they are to secure a top-five finish.
Fit-again midfielder Aaron Ramsey is pushing for a start, whereas former Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe remains on the sidelines alongside Joe Bryan, Antoine Mendy, Youcef Atal, and Sofiane Diop. Terem Moffi is banned for the match. Les Merlus, on the other hand, proved their worth in a 2-0 win over Troyes, but given their poor winless run on the road (0-1-3), home win should be considered. All Bonke Innocent, Gedeon Kalulu, Julien Laporte, and Yvon Mvogo are out of contention with injuries, speaking of the visiting side.
Highlighted Player (Andy Delort):
Born on the 9th of October, 1991, the Algerian international is an FC Sete youth product who spent 11 years at the club's academy before joining Ajjacio in 2008. Delort spent his first season at the French club playing for their reserve team but never made any first-team appearances.
The following season, he joined Nimes and made his professional debut, featuring for the club in their Ligue two match against FC Metz on the 30th of August, 2009. The striker then rejoined Ajaccio and scored his first professional goal on the 15th of September, 2010, in L'ours' french league cup game against Le Havre.
Delort then went onto have little stints at clubs FC Metz, Tours, Wigan Athletic, Caen, and Toulouse before joining his current club Montepillier initially on a loan deal in 2018 and then permanently next year. Additionally, the 28-year-old has capped five times for his country Algeria, making his International debut on the 16th of June, 2019, in Algeria's 3-2 friendly win over Mali.
Highlighted Team (Lorient):
Founded back in 1926, Lorient is a French football club that competes in Ligue 1. Les Merlus have yet to win the Ligue 1 trophy, but they did well to go all the way in the Coupe de France in the 2001/02 season. In the title game, Lorient defeated Bastia thanks to Jean-Claude Darcheville’s goal.
The same season les Merlus made it to the Coupe de la Ligue final, but Bordeaux proved to be a big catch (0-3) for them in the title game. Lorient welcome their rivals at Stade du Moustoir, the stadium which can hold up to 16,392 spectators. The colour of the team’s home shirt is orange with a little black on it, while white is the dominant colour of their away jersey. In the 2002/03 season Lorient represented France in European competitions.
Les Merlus, though, failed to impress on their debut in the UEFA Cup as they were beaten by Denizlispor in the round 1 double-header.
