The Matchday 1 clash of the 2025/26 Europa League group stage between Nice (France) and Roma (Italy) will take place on September 24 at the Allianz Riviera Stadium. Nice vs. Roma: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Nice
Frank Haise's side entered the Europa League group stage after being eliminated from the Champions League in the final qualifying round by Benfica (0-2, 0-2). As a result, Nice will compete in the main draw of the Europa League for the fifth time in their history, with their best performance being the playoff round in the 2017/18 season, where they lost to Lokomotiv Moscow (2-3, 0-1). Notably, the club is on a 12-match winless streak in the Europa League (3 draws, 9 losses).
- The team has not won in their last six home matches in the Europa League (3 draws, 3 losses).
- Both teams scored in the last six home games of the club in this European competition.
- The French side has scored exactly 1 or 2 goals in their last eight home matches in the Europa League.
Predicted lineup for Nice (3-4-3)
Yehvann Diouf – Kodjo Opong, Djuma Ba, Melvin Bard – Tiago Gouveia, Hicham Boudaoui, Charles Vanhoutte, Jonathan Clauss – Jeremie Boga, Sofiane Diop, Terem Moffi.
Defenders Dante, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, and Ali Abdi, as well as midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, are injured.
Roma
The Italians entered the Europa League group stage directly after finishing fifth in the last Serie A season. Consequently, Roma will participate in the main draw of this European competition for the fourth consecutive season, with their best achievement being the final in 2023, where they lost to Sevilla (1-1, extra time 0-0, penalties 1-4). It's worth noting that the Romans have not lost in 8 of their last 10 matches in this tournament (5 wins, 3 draws).
- The team has not won in their last seven away matches in the Europa League (4 draws, 3 losses).
- Both teams scored in 5 of Roma's last 7 away matches in this European competition.
- The Romans conceded exactly 1 or 2 goals in 6 of their last 7 away Europa League matches.
Predicted lineup for Roma (3-4-3)
Mile Svilar – Evan Ndicka, Gianluca Mancini, Zeki Celik – Devyne Rensch, Kouadio Kone, Bryan Cristante, Angelino – Lorenzo Pellegrini, Evan Ferguson, Matias Soule.
Defender Mario Hermoso, midfielder Leon Bailey, and forward Paulo Dybala will miss the match due to injuries.
Referee
Juan Martinez Munuera (Spain)
Matches – 7 (International matches, 2024/25–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 33;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.7;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 43%.
Match Prediction: Nice vs. Roma
The French side has not had much success in the Europa League, but at home, they tend to play openly and often delight fans with entertaining performances. In the last 12 home matches in this European tournament, Nice has not left the field without scoring, and in half of these games, they scored at least twice. However, they often make defensive errors, conceding in their last six home games in the Europa League.
Roma also favors attacking football on the international stage and is effective going forward even away from home: in their last eight away Europa League matches, they failed to score only twice. However, their defense leaves much to be desired: in their last 13 away matches in this European competition, Roma managed to keep a clean sheet only once.
I expect both teams to score in this match, so my prediction: Both teams to score – Yes
* The lineup for each team is based on their last match.
