Schalke vs Nice Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Ligue 1 leaders Nice will look to keep their slim hopes of Europa League progress alive when they take on Bundesliga outfit Schalke at the Veltins Arena on Thursday evening.

A goal from Valentin Eysseric was enough to give Lucien Favre’s side a superb 0-1 success away to St Etienne on Sunday night – a result which preserves Nice’s three point advantage at the head of affairs in the French top flight.

However, Les Aiglons have struggled to replicate their tremendous domestic form in the Europa League and after taking just three points from their opening four group stage matches, Favre and his squad know they’ll need to win their last two games to stand any chance of reaching the last 32 of the competition.

Thursday’s opponents Schalke secured a 0-1 victory in the reverse fixture courtesy of a late strike from Baba Rahman and have already qualified for the knockout stages after a perfect four wins from four.

And following a poor start to the Bundesliga season, Markus Weinzierl’s team are now flying – their 0-1 triumph at Wolfsburg over the weekend was their sixth in seven outings across all competitions and they’re now safely into mid table, having occupied a spot in the relegation zone earlier in the campaign.

They hold a six point buffer over second placed Krasnodar in Europa League Group I, meaning they’re likely to progress as group winners regardless of their last two results – and that could be a saving grace for Nice who are playing catch-up to the Russians and RB Salzburg who they lost 0-2 to last time out in the tournament.

The overall scenario makes this clash tricky to assess from a betting perspective, especially as Nice’s application and apparent will to win throughout the group stage has been questionable in comparison to their domestic exploits.

However, one thing that should be guaranteed is goals, as Nice’s four games have seen 11 hit the net (3 scored and 8 conceded) whilst Schalke have bagged almost two goals per game on average.

So with some general uncertainty surrounding the sides’ hunger for success on Thursday night, we’ll back over 2.5 goals at 8/11 with an open encounter probably and defences likely to be stretched.

In terms of playing in the correct score market, 3-1 Schalke may not be too far away at a generous 14/1 but we recommend to keep stakes to a minimum in this regard.