Preview: Nice vs. Clermont - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh from knocking defending Coupe de France champions Paris Saint-Germain out of the tournament, Nice return to Ligue 1 action with the visit of Clermont to the Allianz Riviera on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the visitors enter the contest with Christophe Galtier's side having just ended their winless and scoreless streak with a 2-1 success over a faltering Rennes outfit.

Match preview

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It would take a truly monumental effort for Nice to somehow knock PSG off their perch at the top of the Ligue 1 table, but a depleted Parisiens side who have looked far from convincing in crunch matches this term were put to the sword from 12 yards in the cup on Monday.

While the teams around them were busy conducting last-minute transfer business, Nice kept Mauricio Pochettino's men at bay throughout the 90 minutes at the Parc des Princes and ultimately booked their place in the quarter-finals via a penalty shootout, with Xavi Simons missing the crucial spot kick for PSG.

This ever-resilient Nice outfit are unsurprisingly a different beast defensively under Galtier's wing, and there is no rest for Les Aiglons after revelling in their last-16 win, as Marseille lie in wait in the quarter-finals next Wednesday.

Attention now turns back to league action for Nice for the time being, with Galtier's second-placed side still 11 points behind PSG at the top of the table, but their Champions League destiny is firmly in their own hands heading into the business end of the season.

The cup win at PSG represented Nice's seventh win on the bounce across all tournaments - with Galtier's side also keeping clean sheets in three of their last four - but protecting their home goal is not the hosts' forte, as they have not recorded a shutout at the Allianz Riviera in the league since August.

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Even with Nice struggling to keep the back door shut on home soil, goal-shy Clermont will still face an uphill battle to breach their hosts' normally resilient rearguard on Sunday, in spite of their crucial and long-awaited win against a collapsing Rennes side.

Baptiste Santamaria's header did propel Rennes into a 1-0 lead before the half-time whistle blew, but Pascal Gastien's tactical alteration paid dividends for Clermont, as substitute Jordan Tell struck the winner after Lucas Da Cunha had levelled the scores.

Prior to that 2-1 win, Clermont had begun 2022 with zero wins and zero goals from their four opening games in all competitions, but only a fifth Ligue 1 victory of the season has helped the 15th-placed Lanciers remain above the danger zone for the time being.

Gastien's side are only two points clear of Metz in the relegation playoff place, though, and a paltry tally of just one goal from their last four away matches is not a recipe for success against a Galtier-marshalled Nice backline.

A brace from much-coveted talent Amine Gouiri saw Nice come back from a goal behind to beat Clermont 2-1 at the Stade Gabriel Montpied earlier in the season, and the hosts will certainly not give up their slim hopes of Ligue 1 glory without a fight.

Team News

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Nice midfielder Pablo Rosario will not be available to Galtier this week due to an accumulation of yellow cards, but the Dutch midfielder missed the win over PSG because of a thigh problem anyway.

The hosts are also without the services of long-term absentee Jeff Reine-Adelaide due to his ACL problem, while Calvin Stengs's sprained ankle has rendered him unavailable too.

PSG loanee Marcin Bulka may have put himself in contention for a start after helping Nice knock his parent club out of the Coupe de France with two penalty saves, but Walter Benitez will expect to return in goal here.

Just eight days after scoring the winner against Rennes, Jordan Tell was shipped out to Grenoble on a free transfer, but Grejohn Kyei has arrived from Servette to bolster Gastien's ranks in the attacking third.

Saif-Eddine Khaoui, Mohamed Bayo and Jim Allevinah are all back from Africa Cup of Nations duty, with Bayo sure to displace Pierre-Yves Hamel at the tip of the attack for the visitors.

Florent Ogier and Jean-Claude Billong are the visitors' only two injury concerns as they work their way back from ankle issues, but Gastien will see little reason to make major alterations from the win over Rennes.

Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Lotomba, Todibo, Dante, Amavi; Boudaoui, Schneiderlin, Thuram, Gouiri; Dolberg, Delort

Clermont possible starting lineup:
Djoco; Zedadka, Seidu, Hountondji, N'Simba; Berthomier, Gastien, Abdul Samed; Da Cunha, Bayo, Rashani

We say: Nice 3-1 Clermont

Clermont cannot welcome nine-goal striker Bayo back to the starting lineup quickly enough amid their goalscoring struggles, and Gastien is sure to pinpoint Nice's poor defensive home record to his crop.

However, Galtier's side are sweeping aside everything in their path right now and ought to be on cloud nine after getting the better of PSG, so we can only predict another comfortable three points for Nice.

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