- 1 Nice vs Lorient: eight league games without a win, the stat that sums up Nice’s reset
- 2 Nice: seven of the last eight home league games without three points
- 3 Lorient: 14 set-piece goals, the best total in the league
- 4 Ligue 1 prediction Nice vs Lorient
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Nice vs Lorient: eight league games without a win, the stat that sums up Nice’s reset 
Nice are winless in eight Ligue 1 matches, and have scored no more than once in any of them. That number sets the tone straight away for the Eagles as the new season gets under way.
Kick-off is on Saturday 22 August at 20:45 at the Allianz Riviera. Both clubs begin their league campaign there.
The 2025-2026 season ended very differently for the two sides. Nice had to get through a two-leg playoff against Saint-Etienne just to stay up, while Lorient finished 10th.
The contrast is even sharper when you remember Nice started that campaign in the Europa League. The Riviera club have dropped a long way in 12 months.
Olivier Pantaloni takes charge of Nice with a Lorient background behind him, while Alexandre Dujeux arrives on the Breton bench after his spell at Angers. Two coaches, two totally opposite situations.
That switch gives the game an extra edge: Pantaloni knows his old club inside out. He laid the groundwork for the project Dujeux is now trying to carry forward.
Nice have not won their first home league game since August 2020, when they beat Lens 2-0. It is the kind of stat that sits there and nags at a team already trying to calm its own crowd.
The Eagles, though, are unbeaten in their last eight home meetings with Lorient, scoring at least three goals in each of the last two. The head-to-head record points firmly the home side’s way.
Nice: seven of the last eight home league games without three points 
Nice have dropped points in seven of their last eight home league matches. The Gym have turned their stadium into neutral territory rather than a fortress.
That home weakness goes a long way to explaining where they finished last season. Survival came down to two playoff matches against Saint-Etienne, both won by the Riviera side.
The attack is the other sore point. In their last eight league games, they never got beyond a single goal.
Pre-season did offer some brighter signs, with a 4-1 win over Saint-Etienne and a 4-0 victory against Nimes. Nice also won 3-0 away to Marseille in the summer.
But the last two friendlies told a different story, a 2-0 defeat to Juventus and a 0-0 draw at Cagliari. Once the opposition level went up, the goals dried up.
Olivier Pantaloni has been handed a strengthened squad, with Gauthier Hein arriving from Metz and Nathan Ngoumou signed from Borussia Monchengladbach. Two players expected to add threat out wide.
Laurent Abergel, a former Lorient man, will miss this one with a ruptured cruciate ligament. Mohamed Abdelmonem is doubtful with an ankle problem.
Moise Bombito could return after a fracture of his left tibia ruled him out for most of last season. His presence would change the look of Nice’s central defence.
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Lorient: 14 set-piece goals, the best total in the league 
Lorient scored 14 goals from set pieces last season, the best tally in Ligue 1. That is the clearest weapon the Merlus bring into this opener.
It helps offset a far less flattering away record. The Bretons failed to score in nine of their league games on the road in the same campaign.
The points total still looks strong, with 11 Ligue 1 wins, four more than in their previous top-flight spell in 2023-2024. A 10th-place finish says enough: solid, steady, job done.
Alexandre Dujeux inherits a well-drilled side, but he will need more threat away from the Moustoir. Lorient have not won their first away league game since August 2022, when they beat Rennes 1-0.
The Merlus could still make it three away games unbeaten in this competition. There is real recent resilience on the road, even if it has come with chronic bluntness in front of goal.
Theo Le Bris should be back in the XI after a hamstring issue kept him out last season. His return gives the Breton midfield some much-needed extra bite.
Pablo Pagis and Bamba Dieng both left this summer, leaving Aiyegun Tosin and Mohamed Bamba with a heavy load up front. Tosin should lead the line alone in a three-centre-back system.
Lorient are also unbeaten in normal time in their last three meetings with Nice. But they have not won away at Nice in the top flight since 2014, when they came away with a 2-1 victory.
Expected Nice line-up: Diouf; Clauss, Mendy, Bombito, Abdi; Boudaoui, Pereira; Hein, Diop, Jansson; Orakpo.
Expected Lorient line-up: Mvogo; Adjei, Talbi, Toure; Le Bris, Cadiou, Fadiga, Kouassi; Makengo, Semedo; Tosin.
Ligue 1 prediction Nice vs Lorient
Our prediction: Under 2.5 goals in the match
Nice have not scored more than one goal in any of their last eight league games. That lack of cutting edge was no one-off; it ran through the back end of last season.
Lorient, meanwhile, failed to score in nine of their away Ligue 1 fixtures last term. Two attack-minded teams struggling for rhythm meeting on opening weekend usually does not produce a shootout.
Lorient’s three-centre-back setup, with only one out-and-out striker, points in the same cautious direction for an opening trip. They will be looking first and foremost not to lose.
With Abergel out and Abdelmonem still in doubt, Nice are likely to play this one with control rather than chaos. Under 2.5 goals is the call.
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