Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Nice
Match Time & Date:
14/01/2022
21:00
Prediction: 2-1
Nantes
Allianz Riviera will host Friday’s Ligue 1 game between Nice and Nantes, the two top-table sides. Nice are enjoying yet another successful season, with the team sitting in second place ahead of the visit of Nantes. Les Aiglons are on a three-match winning run in the national championship, and, as a result, the bookies see them as favourites to pick up all three points from Friday’s clash. Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is banned for the match, while both Mario Lemin and Youcef Atal are on Africa Cup of Nations.
Les Canaries, on the other hand, head into the match following a goalless draw with Monaco. Nantes are undefeated in the previous four league fixtures, but seeing that Nice are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we are not tempted to put our money on the visitors. The fact that all Castelleto, Traore, Simon, and Coulibaly are on international duty goes in favour of our prediction as well.
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 (Nantes):
Founded on April 21, 1943 Nantes is a professional football club that compete in French Ligue 1. Les Canaris are considered one of the most famous French clubs and they had a lot of success during the sixties and the seventies. Nantes won their first Ligue 1 title in the 1964/1965 season and 36 years later (2000/2001) they clinched their eighth (last) domestic trophy.
Speaking of the club’s European success, les Canaris did well to make it to the Champions League semis in 1996, but Italian giants Juventus proved to be a big catch for the French outfit. Nantes welcome their rivals at La Beaujoire-Louis Fonteneau and the capacity of the stadium is 38.004.
The likes of Vahid Halilhodzic, Adel Selimi, Michel Der Zakarian, Viorel Moldovan, Mario Yepes, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Claude Makelele, Christian Karembeu and Dimitri Payet are the notable footballers who played for the club in the past. Nantes are well known for their yellow jerseys and that is the reason why they are nicknamed the Canaries (les Canaris).
