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Nice will face Villarreal at St. James' Park on Saturday in a friendly clash between the two teams.
The French side had their struggles in Ligue 1 last season, with veteran manager Lucien Favre losing his job as a result. They finished ninth in the league table with 58 points from 38 games, nine points adrift of the European spots and have now appointed 34-year-old Francesco Farioli as the new boss.
Nice were beaten 2-0 by Primeira Liga side Sporting Braga in their last pre-season outing and will now be looking to return to winning ways this weekend.
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Villarreal, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong La Liga campaign last season with Quique Setien coming in as the new boss in October after Unai Emery left the post to join English side Aston Villa. The Yellow Submarine finished fifth in the league standings with 64 points from 38 games, their highest points tally in their last six La Liga campaigns.
Following Saturday's game, the Spanish side will face Newcastle United in their final pre-season game before making their return to competitive action against Real Betis on 13 August.
Nice vs Villarreal Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Nice and Villarreal.
- The Eaglets have had eight meetings against Spanish opposition in European competitions. They have won three of those games and lost the other five.
- The Yellow Submarine have had six competitive meetings against French sides. They have won just one of those games, drawn once and lost the other four.
- Villarreal are without a clean sheet in their last three matches while Nice have managed just two in their last eight games across all competitions.
- Eight of Villarreal's 12 league defeats last season came on foreign grounds.
Nice vs Villarreal Prediction
Nice have lost two of their last three games after losing just one of their previous seven matches. They have won just two of their last nine games on foreign grounds and could struggle here.
Villarreal are on a three-game winless run and have won just one of their last seven games. Neither side are in encouraging form and could play out a draw on Saturday.
Prediction: Nice 2-2 Villarreal
Nice vs Villarreal Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Six of Villarreal's last seven matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in three of Nice's last five matches)
