Nice vs Montpellier Prediction: Another dull start at Allianz Riviera?

Two sides on a rotten run of form in Ligue 1 meet at the Allianz Riviera on Friday evening (KO, 20:00), as fifth-placed OGC Nice host relegation-threatened Montpellier HSC. The hosts started the season on fire and topped the table at the end of gameweek 11 before winning just four of their next 13, while the visitors have won just five league games out of a possible 24.

Ahead of this week's clash, televised live on TNT Sports, we have listed the latest team news and match odds, and offered our Nice vs Montpellier prediction.

Team News

Valentin Rosier (hamstring) and Sofiane Diop (foot) are ruled out of Friday's game for Nice, who have Morgan Sanson available again after a two-week absence, though head coach Francesco Farioli has confirmed that the on-loan Aston Villa midfielder will not start.

Montpellier will be without a trio of defenders in Falaye Sacko, Christopher Julien and Becir Omeragic.

Match Odds

Nice are 4/5 to win for the first time in the league since January 27, while Montpellier can be backed at 18/5 for a first Ligue 1 away win of the calendar year. The draw is 13/5, both teams to score is 4/5 and over 2.5 goals is available at 10/11.

Nice to win and under 3.5 goals @ 13/10

The reverse league fixture between these sides produced a goalless draw in November, but Nice do have recent experience of beating Montpellier after dismantling them 4-1 in the Coupe de France last month.

A run of four games without a win has seen them drop down to fifth, but this is an ideal fixture to break their barren run and reassert themselves as Champions League contenders. They've taken just a single point from their last two at the Allianz Riviera, but their home form had been very solid prior to those games; across 12 matches, they have won seven, drawn four and lost one.

Montpellier's poor away record should offer further encouragement. La Paillade have lost seven of their 11 on the road, picking up just 10 points - no side in Ligue 1 have claimed fewer. They've lost their last three away from home in the competition, with two of them seeing the under 3.5 goals selection land.

There have been at least four goals in Montpellier's last two games, but things should settle down against Nice who have witnessed fewer goals than any other club in the division.

Goals have been particularly scarce at the Allianz Riviera, where there have been just 19 strikes - 14 for Les Aiglons and five for the opposition - in 12 matches. 11 of those have seen three goals or fewer, so that's a sensible selection to boost the odds if you're backing a home win.

Half-time - under 0.5 goals @ 7/4

As you'd probably expect with the above taken into account, no side in Ligue 1 has witnessed fewer first-half goals than Nice this season.

There have been just 14 first-half goals - seven for and seven against - across their 24 league matches, with this selection landing in eight of their 12 games at the Allianz Riviera.

It could be another cagey start on Friday with both sides low on confidence.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.