AS Monaco earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Olypique Marseille in their last game and that would have provided a much needed boost to their morale ahead of this game. Thierry Henry’s side needed that draw to show that they are achieving something and they have now avoided defeat in 3 of their last 4 games, whereas they had lost 4 of their previous 5. They have steadied the ship defensively and the return of Rony Lopes to their starting line up alongside the newly signed Cesc Fabregas is surely going to make them a better team in this second half of the season. Nice come into this game having tasted victory just once in their last 7 games in all competitions. However, that win came against Bordeaux last weekend and they would be confident of getting something from this game. The visitors attempted to play a possession-based game in their last match and that wasn’t successful as their opponents kept on cutting out their passes. They could be afforded more freedom to play their game here, but that wouldn’t guarantee them the win. Monaco have scored in four of their last five matches and with Nice losing their last two games on the road, we can see les Monegasques nicking a win here. Both these sides have seen low-scoring matches recently with just two of Nice’s last 14 containing over 2.5 goals, so we’re going to back a 1-0 victory for Monaco. Nice have seemed incapable of scoring recently and with Monaco on the up, we’re expecting Henry’s men to do the job here. 

Lyon resumed duties after the winter break by securing a routine 2-0 win over 5th tier Bourges at the weekend and that should boost their confidence ahead of this game. Meanwhile, Strasbourg would consider this game a trickier one as they haven’t played any game since the turn of the new year. Lyon’s failure to beat Montpellier just before the Christmas break has seen them remained in the 3rd position ahead of this round of fixtures. There is a massive 15 points gap between them and runaway leaders PSG so their most realistic target at the moment is to finish inside the top four. Lyon haven’t been perfect in their home games as they have won just two of their last four home games, and that explains why PSG have pulled far away from them this season. Strasbourg are also struggling to play when they are not at home and this game is set to be another tough day at the office for them. Lyon have a pleasing recent record against Strasbourg. Tuesday’s hosts have won four of the last five renewals, while they won by two goals to nil when the teams met in the league earlier this season.