Victory over Paris Saint-Germain would prove Nice’s title credentials
2016 has been a crazy year for football. Leicester City made history by clinching the 2015/16 Premier League title and once European minnows Wales made it to the semi-finals of the European Championship. Now the likes of RB Leipzig and OGC Nice sit at the top of the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 respectively, ahead two of European’s most dominant clubs in Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Leipzig’s dominant displays were somewhat expected, given the heavy financial backing that they have received from energy drink company Red Bull, who purchased the club back in 2009. Yet, Nice’s brilliant rise was less expected.
With half of the season now gone, Nice still find themselves in first place, just one point ahead of title favourites PSG, but can they hold on to the top spot until May?
Nice’s early season form was supported by PSG’s slow start. Unai Emery’s side lost one and drew one of their opening four matches, which left them with five points to make up early on. Meanwhile, Nice were picking up points left, right and centre, and the arrival of infamous striker Mario Balotelli, who went on to score five goals in his first three appearances for the club, took them to the next level.
After moving into first place with an impressive 4-0 victory over fellow title-chasers Monaco back in September, the club embarked on a run of seven consecutive victories, scoring 17 goals in the process, which saw them pull ahead in the race.
However, their perfect form has since dried up, and just seven points out of an available 12 in their last four matches has diminished their lead. They have still only tasted defeat in the league on one occasion this season, but the fact that the loss came against relegation candidates SM Caen will be a worry for Lucien Favre.
Much of the hype surrounding the club has highlighted Balotelli as the key to a successful season, yet the Italian has scored just once more since his winning goal against FC Lorient back on October 2nd.
As Balotelli’s previous clubs will know all too well, the promising goalscorer isn’t quite the reliable figure that he seemed to be back at the start of the season, having missed six of their last 11 matches through injury. French winger Alessane Pléa has done well to fill his boots, scoring eight goals in 15 appearances so far this season, yet he is unlikely to carry Nice to Ligue 1 glory singlehandedly.
Just the the club’s form has started to show signs of dipping, PSG have hit top gear, winning five consecutive matches, taking their unbeaten run to eight games. However then they lost to Montpellier, before hosting Nice in a game which could define the season.
PSG remain unbeaten at home so far and will be confident of keeping that record intact. Should Nice fall to defeat, they would be leapfrogged by PSG and are unlikely to regain control of the title race. Yet, a result at the Parc des Princes would really prove their title credentials and set Ligue 1 up for an exciting sprint to the finish line.
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