Fulham, who are returning to the Premier League after a three-year hiatus, kick off their preparations for the 2022-23 season with a trip to Portugal to take on Ligue 1 side Nice at Estadio Algarve with kickoff at 10:15 pm.
After a promising start to his career at Nice, Christophe Galtier left the club after just one season to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain.
Les Aiglons could have ended the 2021-22 season having secured Champions League football and with a Coupe de France trophy in the cabinet, but Galtier’s side ultimately dropped to fifth place – settling for Europa Conference League football in the process – and they lost in the Coupe de France final to Nantes.
Lucien Favre has returned to Nice for a second spell at the club after the club allowed Galtier to head for the Parc des Princes, and the ex-Borussia Dortmund boss saw his side begin pre-season with a 1-1 draw versus Cercle Brugge, as Andy Delort opened the scoring within eight minutes before a Yannis Nahounou own goal.
Having won promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, Fulham were handed a tough opening-day fixture when they entertain Liverpool at Craven Cottage. With Aleksandar Mitrovic in attack and Andreas Pereira and Joao Palhinha already signed as midfielders, Fulham look well set for an immediate return to the big time.
Nice vs Fulham Head to Head
Both sides have one game against each other with visitors taking one win while hosts winless. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Sheffield United 4-0 Fulham
- Fulham 7-0 Luton
- Fulham 0-1 Nottingham
- Bournemouth 1-1 Fulham
Away
- Benfica 3-0 Nice
- Nice 1-1 Brugge
- Reims 2-3 Nice
- Nice 1-3 Lille
Nice Team News
Nice will likely split their squad in two ahead of their games with Fulham and Benfica. They are without goalkeeper Walter Benitez, who joined PSV Eindhoven earlier this summer, but Les Aiglons have responded by bringing back Marcin Bulka on a permanent transfer after the 22-year-old helped Nice knock PSG out of the Coupe de France on penalties last season.
Fulham Team News
Silva could adopt a similar approach to that of his counterpart with one half of his side battling Benfica while the other tests their mettle against Nice.
Prediction and Odds
Nice were off the pace in their draw with Cercle Brugge as they adjust to life under Favre, and we expect the Cottagers to hold Les Aiglons to a score draw.
- Draw
- Double Chance
- Both Teams to Score
