It’s the final day of the month, but there’s still time for one more October preview as Angers take on Nice in France. This Ligue 1 match has followers of French football excited and the play can be followed on live television from midday.
This match begins a list of seven Ligue 1 games on Sunday, and armchair fans hope the rivals set the pace for the afternoon, providing plenty of goals and even more talking points. Both clubs will be looking to sign off with a win, and that ambition should make this an interesting 90 minutes.
PSG lost their grip on Ligue 1 last season when finally surrendering the trophy after dominating French football for the best part of a decade. They aim to fire back at the first time of asking and believe they are good enough and have a team talented enough to reign as the kings of France once more, but their early-season form shows there’s still much work to be done on that front.
This promises to be one of the most competitive renewals of Ligue 1 in living memory, and, at present, five sides have a chance of being champions in spring.
Nice are one of the sides in the running, hoping to topple PSG from the top spot. They are in the hunt for silverware and their strong start as critics scramble to adjust their expectations and predictions.
Opponents Angers are hot on the heels of the prize places and know if they can take three points from this home match, they will send out a message of intent, showing they are serious about challenging for a European finish.
Angers are aiming high
Angers have been performing above expectations so far this season and entered the week sitting in sixth place with lots to be proud of so far. They won, drew five and lost two games so far, scoring 17 goals while conceding 13.
The 17 points against the name mean Angers are just one behind Marseille in fourth place and two points off opponents Nice who are third and occupy the Champions League qualification places. Angers have the home advantage and know three points in this early afternoon kickoff would blow the league wide open. There’s everything for the home team to play for here, and they’ll believe they can win.
Despite sitting on the edges of the major places and looking like a team that’s ready to strike, making the most of any dropped points from the teams above them in Ligue 1.
The recent form of Angers isn’t overly exciting and shows the side are outside of the title race looking in as they have struggled for consistency.
In their last five games before this week, Angers have won one, drawn three and lost one so far. They were seen drawing 2-2 away to Saint Ettienne last Friday, gaining a point from a game they have chances to win.
Angers raced into a 2-0 lead that day but were pegged back by Khazri and Nade, who found the net on the hour then deep into stoppage time. It was a painful end to what had been a great game but a result the players will learn from.
Nice are in the title hunt
Nice are quickly becoming the surprise package of this Ligue 1 season as they continue to upset the odds and perform better than many respected pundits predicted they would. The visiting side started the week placed third in the Ligue 1 ladder behind PSG and Lens.
They have 19 points on the board, which is two fewer than Lens in second place and nine less than current leaders PSG. The pacesetters from Paris are looking like potential champions at this stage, but there’s still plenty of football to be played, and they are far from guaranteed winners, having failed to win two of their last three games.
Unfortunately for Nice fans, their club has been unable to take advantage of those slip-ups from PSG. Nice headed into game week three wins and two defeats in their last five and were also victorious in their most recent start.
The visitors have won six, drawn two and lost two of their opening ten games, scoring 20 goals and conceding seven. When taking a closer look, we note Nice have the best defences in the competition and have conceded three fewer goals than top of the league.
They have won three of their last four games, with one of those victories coming last weekend in the form of a 3-2 home cheer over Lyon, snatching all three points in what was a thriller for those that watched the match unfold.
Nice won that game with three late goals, fighting back from 2-0 down after Lyon had a player sent off. Nice took advantage of the extra man, scoring on 80, 89 and 92 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was a stunning end to the match and reminded players and coaches of the importance of good discipline and keeping 11 men on the park.
Angers v Nice prediction
Armchair fans are in for a footballing treat here as two ambitious sides go head to head. The three points up for grabs here would do wonders for the ambitions of both clubs, and that should ensure we enjoy a game where both sets of players and the coaching staff are pushing hard for the victory.
The stats make for interesting reading, with Nice winning each of their last two matches against Angers by a 3-0 scoreline. They’ve also scored exactly three goals against them in three of the last four matches.
Fans of the visiting team would love to see something near a repeat performance here with a few goals scored, the clean sheet and three points on the board. Angers know that if they are to stop that from happening, avoiding another heavy defeat at the hands of Nice, they must improve defensively and hold their concentration until the final whistle. If they are able to do that, they will have a chance of getting something from this game.,
Ligue 1 odds
The pre-match betting odds that are available to 22bet members looking to predict the winner of this game on Sunday afternoon has Angers priced at 2.84 with Nice trading at 2.49 for the three points, or there’s the draw at 3.34.
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