Salzburg vs Nice Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Salzburg have hit a bit of a rough patch in the last month or so after a decent start to the campaign. They failed to qualify for the Champions League group stages when they lost to Dinamo Zagreb in the playoffs, but a Europa League group stage appearance is a decent achievement for them, especially considering the success they enjoyed in this stage a couple of seasons ago.

They broke the goal-scoring record in the group stages a few years ago, but their talented squad has largely moved on since then. They lost 1-0 at home to Krasnodar in the group opener and followed it with a 3-1 defeat to Schalke last month. This was followed by a home defeat to Sturm Graz in the Bundesliga, and they couldn’t find three points at Wolfsberger on Saturday either, taking their winless streak to four matches in all competitions, which is their worse streak without a win since August 2014.

Salzburg were known for their attacking talent during the golden age of 2014/15, but they aren’t quite up to that standard at the moment. Striker Soriano is still there as their main attacking outlet, but the Spaniard has only scored one in his two Europa League outings this season. Still, he has bagged six in the Bundesliga and is Salzburg’s top scorer, so he’s definitely one to watch in this game. Four of these have come at the Red Bull Arena as well, so Nice will have to be wary.

Nice have their own star man to call upon. Mario Balotelli was signed in the summer as a replacement for the loss of Hatem Ben Arfa and Valere Germain. There was quite a lot of uncertainty surrounding the move considering his form over the last couple of seasons, but Nice have done a tremendous job with the maverick Italian. Despite being injured for a few games he is their top scorer with six goals to his name, and he has found the net in each of his last four appearances. He’s 6/4 to score anytime tonight which is a really good price considering his recent form.

Despite his excellent form at the moment, it’s clear to see that Nice’s priorities do not lie with the Europa League. They have lost both of their group games so far and were hammered 5-2 by Krasnodar last time out.

This isn’t a reflection on the French side’s ability. They are in fantastic form domestically, and their 2-0 win over Lyon at the weekend made it four wins on the bounce in Ligue 1 for them. This keeps them top of the pile with a four point advantage over champions for the last four years PSG. It’s understandable that they are focusing on toppling the Paris giants.

Both of these sides have top strikers at their disposal, and between them they have scored 28 goals in their last six matches each. Nice have failed to score just once this season, whilst Salzburg have scored in 17 of their 21 matches in all competitions. This makes odds of 7/10 for Both Teams to Score look a good value bet. With Nice focusing so heavily on Ligue 1 I fancy Salzburg’s chances here, so I’m backing a 2-1 correct score prediction at 15/2 as well.