Football Bet of the Day: Back gritty visitors to keep it close

• Nice struggling but are still defensively strong

• Farioli's side won at PSG in the league

• Use Asian Handicap to give Nice a headstart

PSG v Nice
Wednesday 13 March, 20:10

We were right about goals in Germany yesterday, but the result went the opposite way to the one we wanted, as Bayern's U19 side crashed out of the UEFA Youth League courtesy of a 3-1 defeat to Olympiakos.

We'll head to France now, because PSG are up against Nice in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, and I think it could be a closer tie than the market suggests.

Nice were title contenders at one stage, and it's been a largely encouraging campaign under Italian coach Francesco Farioli, but there's no doubt that the southern team's form has dipped of late. Nice have lost four of their last five in Ligue 1, and are in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League.

That said, Nice haven't lost any of those games by more than one goal, and they still have the joint-best defensive record in the French top flight, with just 19 goals leaked so far. They'll have a degree of confidence that they can at least compete at the Parc des Princes, given that they won 3-2 at PSG in the league back in September.

PSG have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and are ten points clear at the top of the table in Ligue 1, so it's been a positive first campaign under new coach Luis Enrique. The capital club have put together a 22-match unbeaten run in all competitions, a streak that stretches back to the first week of November.

However, it's worth noting that PSG aren't regularly blowing teams away, and they have been held to draws in their last three league matches. They have secured wins by multiple-goal margins in just four of their last ten matches, and Nice have only lost by two goals or more just twice this season.

This could be quite a cagey game, and even though Nice have been on the wrong end of some tight games recently, they are rarely dismantled. I'll back them +1.0 & +1.5 on the Asian Handicap at 1.845/6 - if Nice lose by a goal we get a half-win, and we only lose if PSG win by two goals or more inside 90 minutes.