Nice vs Schalke 04 Predictions, Betting Tips, & Match Preview

Nice enjoyed their best finish since 2013 with a 4th in the French Ligue 1 last season, managing to keep pace with the likes of Monaco and Lyon throughout – a massive improvement on their 11th place finish the season prior. Nice were just two points behind 3rd placed Monaco and the coveted Champions League qualification places as the season drew to a close, but direct qualification into the Europa League group stages is no doubt a decent consolation. Winger Hatem Ben Arfa was their main asset last season, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances for the side, but his departure to PSG over the transfer window hasn’t slowed the hosts. Nice are unbeaten in their opening four fixtures (W3 D1) and currently stand 2nd in the league, after beating Olympique Marseille 3-2 at home last time out. Ex-Liverpool and AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli scored twice on his competitive debut for them.

Schalke, meanwhile, under new coach Markus Weinzierl and with a handful of promising new signings, have been unable to take anything away from their opening two fixtures of the new Bundesliga season. Schalke paid a visit to Frankfurt in their opening fixture before the international break, where they were defeated 1-0 despite having more chances and shots on target than the hosts. The visitors would usually be optimistic in a quick bounce back to form, but their first home match of the 2016/2017 Bundesliga campaign brought Bayern Munich. Schalke were solid defensively but couldn’t penetrate the reigning champion’s back four. Two late goals from Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich saw Bayern take away a 2-0 win and all three points.

This match represents not only the first meeting between Nice and Schalke, but also Nice’s first ever group stage match in European competition. Though Schalke may be out-of-form, they remain the favourites for the bookies at 6/4. The Germans are veterans to European competition and are always tricky opponents at this point in the tournament – they’ve made it out of the group stages in every single season since 2009. However, we feel that both teams to score is the safer bet here. Nice have only failed to score once in their last seventeen home matches across all competitions, with both teams scoring in four of their last five at home, and Schalke have scored at least one goal in nine of their last eleven away outings, with both teams scoring in eight of these. With the home advantage and their strong current form, Nice must fancy themselves to take away the win against Schalke, who will likely be less confident after the opening stages of this new campaign.

As such, both teams to score at 19/20 and Nice to win 2-1 at 10/1 with bet365 are our choice bets for this match.