17 September 2021, 15:25 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
The French Ligue 1 fixture, OGC Nice vs. AS Monaco, kicks off at 12:00 (GMT+1) on Sunday, September 19 at the 36,178-capacity stadium, Allianz Riviera.
Preview Nice Ligue 1, Sep 19, 2021
Preview OGC Nice stretched their unbeaten run to four after the 2-0 win over Nantes at the Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau on the fifth day of the league. The Eagles could have been ahead but Mario Lemina was denied by the Nantes goalkeeper, Lafont. The Nigerian Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon had his chance at the other end but failed to father a goal. Both sides walked off all-square and without a goal at the break before Nantes emerged on the front-foot at the restart. However, it was Nice who found the net first. Kasper Dolberg (75') threw himself at the ball for the opener with fifteen minutes left on the clock. Five minutes later, a one-two left Amine Gouiri (80') with the opportunity for an easy finish to wrap up the three points for Nice. The win came after the recent ruling by the Disciplinary Commission of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) which saw OGC Nice docked a point with another suspended. - Following the controversial clash between players and fans in the game against Olympique Marseille. The victory leaves Nice in 4th place, having picked up 9 points after 3W, 1D, & 0L (DWWW). The recent success comes with the Eagles' ability to hit the back of the net at least twice in every match (2.5 g.s.p.g) having scored 10 goals in four Ligue 1 games. Nice remains the only side in Ligue 1 with a clean sheet ahead of Matchday 6. Held in high regard after leading Lille OSC to their first Ligue 1 title in over a decade, Christophe Galtier appears to have the key to unlock the top-end of the table. The Daily Mirror reports the 55-year-old is being considered for the managerial position at Arsenal. Galtier could line up with a 4—3—3 formation against Monaco on Sunday. Alexis Claude-Maurice picked up a fibula fracture and is expected to rejoin the squad at the end of this month.
Preview Monaco Ligue 1, Sep 19, 2021
Preview AS Monaco defeated SK Sturm Graz by a lone goal in Thursday's Europa League opener at the Stade Louis II. On Ligue 1 Matchday 5, Monaco tumbled to 16th place following the 2-0 defeat to Marseille on home soil. A remarkable performance from the 21-year-old Senegalese, Marseille's Bamba Dieng (37' & 60'), who bagged a brace, left Monaco with their third defeat of the season: DLLWL. With only four points after five games (1W, 1D, and 3L), Niko Kovac will be on the hunt for a win which could provide the needed confidence to signal a season turnaround, given that red-hot-form Nice are at their best. Kovac could line up a 4—4—2 formation, having Ben Yedder and Volland in attack. A muscular injury could keep Jean Marcelin out of this trip to the Allianz Riviera.