Nice vs. PSG: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream and TV Info
French champions Paris Saint-Germain travel to the Allianz Riviera on Friday and will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of being unable to find a way past brave Angers SCO on Tuesday night when they take on OGC Nice.
Les Aiglons are an unpredictable team—they drew 0-0 away at FC Lorient on Tuesday—but they are still only four points behind second-placed SM Caen.
Laurent Blanc’s men will not find it easy against Nice and Claude Puel’s side have the ability in their ranks to perhaps go one better than Angers earlier in the week and hand PSG their first Ligue 1 defeat of the season.
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Date: Friday, December 4
Time: 8:30 p.m. CET/7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Allianz Riviera, Nice
TV Info: beIN Sports 1 (France—8:30 p.m. CET), BT Sport ESPN (UK—shown on delay at 8:30 p.m. GMT), beIN Sports (USA—2:25 p.m. EST)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect
Team News
Nice welcome Ligue 1 leaders PSG to the French Riviera on Friday, and they will be confident that they can pick up where Angers left off on Tuesday, but this time hurt the French champions unlike Le SCO.
Les Parisiens were held to a 0-0 draw by an impeccably well organised Stephane Moulin outfit at Stade Jean Bouin and even though both Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria hit the post, Le SCO were good value for at least a point.
PSG looked short of creativity in the department of Maine-et-Loire and that is unlikely to change at Allianz Riviera.
Playmaker Javier Pastore is a long way away from making a return to full fitness and Marco Verratti was only able to train alone ahead of the game, so both miss out on the squad.
On top of those absences, Blaise Matuidi and Layvin Kurzawa were doubts after picking up issues this week, but both ultimately made the cut. Gregory van der Wiel misses out once again with a back problem.
Nice’s two main danger men, the mercurial talent that is Hatem Ben Arfa and clinical finisher Valere Germain are both fit and in the squad, so should start for Puel’s hosts.
With the French pair in the starting XI, Les Aiglons have the tools to punish PSG if the men from the capital arrive on the French Riviera in complacent mood.
Form Lines (all competitions)
Nice
L 1-2 vs. FC Nantes (Ligue 1)
W 0-1 vs. Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1)
W 3-0 vs. Olympique Lyonnais (Ligue 1)
L 2-0 vs. Toulouse (Ligue 1)
D 0-0 vs. Lorient (Ligue 1)
PSG
W 5-0 vs. Toulouse (Ligue 1)
W 1-2 vs. Lorient (Ligue 1)
W 0-5 vs. Malmo FF (UEFA Champions League)
W 4-1 vs. ESTAC Troyes (Ligue 1)
D 0-0 vs. Angers (Ligue 1)
Predicted Formations
Nice: (3-4-1-2): Hassen; Genevois, Bodmer (c), Le Marchand; Pied, Mendy, Koziello, Hult; Seri; Ben Arfa, Germain.
PSG (4-3-3): Trapp; Aurier, Silva (c), Luiz/Marquinhos, Maxwell; Motta, Rabiot, Stambouli/Matuidi; Di Maria, Ibrahimovic, Cavani.
Player to Watch Per Side
Nice’s main men so far this season have been Ben Arfa and Germain, but the France international is one of the few players in Puel’s squad who can genuinely boast skill of a similar level to that on show in the PSG group.
With greater consistency and the same calmness he is currently exuding with Les Aiglons, the 28-year-old could arguably play for a club like the Ligue 1 giants. However, the former Lyon, Marseille and Newcastle United man is currently rebuilding his reputation and is perfectly fine where he is.
Ben Arfa has seven goals and two assists from 15 games in Le Championnat so far this season. Most of those goals came in a three-game stretch, when he struck five times and laid on another goal in wins over Girondins de Bordeaux, AS Saint-Etienne and Stade Rennais.
If Ben Arfa can turn it on against PSG, then Puel’s side will stand a greater chance of hurting their visitors. The Nice No. 9 has a good record against the capital club; he has played against them five times in Ligue 1 and he has been on the winning side every time.
As for Les Parisiens, their own star man—Zlatan Ibrahimovic—should be back in the starting XI at Allianz Riviera after spending most of the goalless draw away at Angers on the bench.
The Swede is in the middle of a rich vein of form at present and has scored 10 times and laid on another three in his last nine outings in Le Championnat.
Nice’s defenders—notably Paul Baysse who has had some memorable run-ins with the talismanic striker in the past—will be hoping that Ibrahimovic does not feel in the mood to run riot on Friday.
Key Battle
The key battle between Nice and PSG is that between Ben Arfa and Germain and the French champions’ defence. If visiting captain Thiago Silva and his team-mates can keep the French pair at bay, then Les Aiglons’ chances of finding the net will be severely diminished.
Blanc’s men scoring themselves is another different battle entirely, and the 0-0 draw in Angers was the first time in 26 Ligue 1 matches that Les Parisiens have not hit the back of the net.
However, if the likes of Silva, David Luiz or marquinhos, Serge Aurier and Maxwell can keep Ben Arfa and Germain quiet, then the visitors’ chances of picking up an away win are enhanced.
Odds (Oddsshark)
Nice: +759
PSG: -286
Draw: +310
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