OGC Nice vs Angers SCO
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Today’s free tip is in the game between OGC Nice and Angers SCO. It’s fair to say that this game is a dead rubber, given that neither team have anything left to play for, but I am still expecting OGC Nice to put on a show today.
Not only is it their last home game of the season, but their fans are rather hard to appease. They’ve always been perceived to be a more “Italian” club than a French club, at least when it comes to their fans. For that reason, they’re a very well-supported team, OGC Nice, and their fans turn the Allianz Riviera into to cauldron with alarming ease. Personally, I think that’s why Balotelli has done so well in south France – he has to be in such atmospheres to motivate himself to give his all. Well, that and the fact that he’s playing in a league that is frankly beneath him!
I think it’s fair to say that this has been one of OGC Nice’s best ever campaigns. Credit has been splashed around for their magnificent season but to me, it has to fall squarely on the shoulders of Swiss boss, Favre. He’s done an outstanding job since joining the club, somehow managing to make the team forget that their best player, Hatem Ben Arfa, left pre-season. He’s not spent lavishly; he’s simply worked with what he knows, bringing in trusted, hard-working individuals and fusing them with promising youngsters. For example, one of Favre’s pre-season signings was Brazilian defender, Dante. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of him – I think he’s a liability – but he’s been an absolute rock under Favre, so he’s been a great signing. He took a chance on wildcard Balotelli, and I think it’s paid off, for the most part – he’s been unplayable this season. Belhanda has added the class that the team lost when Ben Arfa left, and as for Cyprien – he has to have been one of the revelations of Ligue 1 this season. It’s a shame that his maiden Ligue 1 campaign has been ended by a lengthy injury, but he looks a really talented player.
So, yeah – Favre deserves a lot of praise. He’s maintained the squad, giving youngsters a chance, and also giving some players belief where they previously lacked it. Seri has been as instrumental as ever, but Koziello has stepped up even more now that he’s had to. Eysseric is still an idiot – a good player, but an idiot that can get sent off at any time – and those three combined provide the foundation for OGC Nice’s almost infectious energy. Young defender Sarr has played most games for OGC Nice this season, and barring a few hiccups, he’s looked remarkably assured. Favre’s biggest success is getting the best out of Plea, though. As anyone involved in French football knows, Olympique Lyonnais produce the best youngsters. However, there’s a catch, which is that almost all of their youngsters are mentally frail. They’re brilliant in one moment, and shocking the next, and that tends to stay with them throughout their careers. You can see it in Ben Arfa, Malouda, Diarra, Essien, Benzema, Martial, and in Plea himself. How many of those careers have ended too soon through bad attitudes? How many have failed to deliver upon their staggering potential? I remember when Essien was the best central midfielder in the world. I honestly don’t even know where he is nowadays; it shouldn’t be that way. Anyway, Plea is very much of that mindset but the performances he’s put in this season have to be lauded because they’ve been terrific, and again, I praise Favre for it.
Ultimately, what OGC Nice now have is a system that works. They’ve got the potential for a good future because they are a well-supported team in an idyllic location. They’ve got experienced players to help the youngsters out, and enough locals to get the fans on-board. They’re a tight-knit and consistent group, and Favre makes them play good attacking football. They attack and defend as one, work hard for one another, and truly believe in themselves. Barring the stupid red cards that they’re occasionally susceptible to, this is a rather complete squad, in my opinion. Sure, the absence of Plea and Cyprien today isn’t ideal, but they’ve done well without them for weeks now, and I don’t see why that would change here. OGC Nice look a very motivated team so even when they’ve nothing left to play for, I believe that they’re going to give their best here. If they do that, then they should win this one easily enough – they’ve already won fourteen from eighteen on their own patch this season, comfortably overcoming Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Olympique Lyonnais, and Olympique de Marseille along the way. Why should Angers SCO be the exception today?
The visitors are not short of cohesion and fight themselves. Indeed, I personally believe that those characteristics are the only reasons that Angers SCO are still in Ligue 1. They had a wonderful maiden campaign last year, but have found the going a lot harder this season, primarily because they haven’t invested in their squad enough. They’ve not lost any of their commitment, nor their belief, but it’s easier to play against a team when you can predict what they’re going to do, and if I can do that, then I’m damn sure that the managers of Ligue 1 clubs can do so! Don’t get me wrong – a team like Angers SCO still aren’t easy to overcome because they do work hard, and they do believe in themselves. They’re a very athletic and strong team, both physically and mentally. However, if that work-rate is rivalled, then they really don’t have anything to offer.
Personally, I believe the above is why Angers SCO struggle so much on the road. It’s far easier for teams to be motivated to overcome their opponents when they play at home because they have their fans at their backs. On their own patch, Angers SCO have the upper hand there, but away from home, they tend to crumble. That’s when their almost complete lack of quality becomes very apparent. Consider that, other than Lorient, only one team has lost more away games than Angers SCO this season, and that’s Ligue 2-bound Bastia, who are sat at the foot of the table. Angers SCO have done enough to get away from the drop zone this season, but I am not sure they’ll manage it next season without some reinforcements arriving. I believe they’ve capitalised on other teams not delivering as they normally would this time around. Personally, I rate Bastia and Lorient as much better teams than Angers SCO, as are Montpellier HSC, and each of them have had their respective problems to overcome in this campaign. On paper, though, they’re better teams, so I am sure you can see what I mean when I say that Angers SCO are walking a bit of a tightrope.
Angers SCO have kept one clean sheet away from home this season, which was in their 1-0 win at Girondins de Bordeaux in September 2016. On average, they concede at least two goals per away game, which certainly contributes their dismal away record. They lost in southern France last season, and they lost at home against OGC Nice earlier in the season. They can’t handle it when OGC Nice work as hard as they do but with better players. I think it’s fair to say that Angers SCO have players that are handfuls, but are they really good enough to trouble this beast that is OGC Nice? I really don’t see it.
In their most recent outings, OGC Nice were beaten in a derby by Olympique de Marseille, and Angers SCO claimed a draw against Lorient. OGC Nice hate losing derbies; they’re going to come out of the traps with guns blazing today, I am sure. Angers SCO profited from the absence of Moukandjo against Lorient; the home team should have won that game on the day but squandered too many good opportunities. On another day, they’d have conceded four. They cannot afford to play like that today, but I don’t really see the alternative for what is essentially a rather limited Angers SCO side.
Again, this is a dead rubber so be mindful of that when deciding what stake to go for. Then again, at this stage of the season, pre-match betting is very, very tough indeed, so there’s probably no more risk in this irrelevant game than in the ones that actually matter. Either way, I can only see OGC Nice overcoming Angers SCO without much fuss today in what should be a good game of football between two teams that like to attack. Ensure you take this with the -1 Asian Handicap and not the -1.5 Asian Handicap, though – there is a risk of OGC Nice conceding goals here with a couple of regulars (Pereira, Dalbert) on the sidelines today.
OGC Nice to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 6/5.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Argentinian Primera Division:
Colon de Santa Fe vs Union de Santa Fe
Newell’s Old Boys vs Rosario Central
Boca Juniors vs River Plate
Arsenal de Sarandi vs Temperley
Patronato vs Sarmiento
Austrian Bundesliga:
SCR Altach vs Sturm Graz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AA Gent vs Sporting Charleroi
Club Brugge vs RSC Anderlecht
Mouscron-Peruwelz vs Racing Genk
Brazilian Serie A:
Fluminense vs Santos
Palmeiras vs Vasco da Gama
Cruzeiro vs Sao Paulo
Bahia vs Atletico Paranaense
Ponte Preta vs Sport Recife
Avai vs Vitoria
Gremio vs Botafogo
Czech Republic Synot Liga:
Teplice vs Bohemians 1905
Danish Superligaen:
Lyngby vs FC Nordsjaelland
SonderjyskE vs FC Midtjylland
FC Copenhagen vs Brondby
Esbjerg vs AGF Aarhus
Viborg vs AC Horsens
English Premier League:
Crystal Palace vs Hull City
West Ham United vs Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
07 Vestur Sorvagur vs NSI Runavik
EB/Streymur vs HB Torshavn
IF Fuglafjordur vs Vikingur Gotu
Skala vs B36 Torshavn
TB/FCS/Royn vs KI Klaksvik
French Ligue 1:
Saint-Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Olympique de Marseille
Montpellier HSC vs Olympique Lyonnais
OGC Nice vs Angers SCO
Bastia vs Lorient
Dijon FCO vs AS Nancy-Lorraine
AS Monaco vs Lille OSC
Nantes Atlantique vs En Avant Guingamp
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Stade Rennais
Metz vs Toulouse
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
IBV Vestmannaeyjar vs Vikingur Reykjavik
KR Reykjavik vs IA Akranes
KA Akureyri vs Fjolnir Reykjavik
UMF Grindavik vs Vikingur Olafsvik
Breidablik Kopavogur vs Stjarnan Gardabaer
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Italian Serie A:
Internazionale vs Sassuolo
Sampdoria vs Chievo Verona
Cagliari vs Empoli
Palermo vs Genoa
Torino vs SSC Napoli
Bologna vs Pescara
Crotone vs Udinese
AS Roma vs Juventus
Dutch Eredivisie:
ADO Den Haag vs Excelsior Rotterdam
AZ Alkmaar vs FC Utrecht
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Heracles Almelo
Go Ahead Eagles vs Sparta Rotterdam
Heerenveen vs NEC Nijmegen
Willem II vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam
PSV Eindhoven vs PEC Zwolle
Vitesse Arnhem vs Roda JC Kerkrade
Twente Enschede vs Groningen
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Maritimo Funchal vs Estoril
Chaves vs Rio Ave
FC Porto vs Pacos de Ferreira
Sporting Braga vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Portuguese Segunda Liga:
Portimonense vs Olhanense
Sporting Covilha vs Santa Clara
Sporting Clube de Portugal II vs Academica de Coimbra
Vizela vs Freamunde
Uniao Madeira vs Gil Vicente
Penafiel vs Leixoes Matosinhos
SL Benfica II vs Sporting Braga II
Fafe vs Varzim
Famalicao vs Academico Viseu
Russian Premier League:
Tom’ Tomsk vs Terek Grozny
FK Ufa vs Anzhi Makhachkala
FK Rostov vs Rubin Kazan’
Spanish Primera Liga:
Deportivo Alaves vs Celta de Vigo
Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Leganes
Real Betis Balompie vs Atletico Madrid
Eibar vs Sporting Gijon
Las Palmas vs Barcelona CF
Villarreal CF vs Deportivo La Coruna
Real Madrid vs Sevilla CF
Real Sociedad vs Malaga CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Halmstad vs Hammarby
GIF Sundsvall vs Jonkopings Sodra
Sirius vs Elfsborg Boras
Malmo FF vs Ostersunds FK
Swiss Super League:
FC Basel vs Thun
Grasshopper Zurich vs Lausanne Sport
Young Boys Bern vs Luzern
Swiss Challenge League:
Le Mont vs Wohlen
Neuchatel Xamax vs Servette
Turkish Super Lig:
Osmanlispor vs Akhisar Belediye
Gaziantepspor vs Galatasaray
Alanyaspor vs Karabukspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!