The 2023/24 Ligue 1 season is shaping up to be an interesting campaign across Europe and has already given rise to several second-favourite teams for fans.
Bayer Leverkusen and OGC Nice, in particular, have been praised for their start to the season as they challenge serial winners Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in their respective leagues.
Nice are currently one of two unbeaten teams in the top five European leagues (Leverkusen being the other, with 11 wins and a draw from 12 league matches), having won eight and drawn five of their first 13 matches, although they sit a point behind leaders PSG.
While only a third of the season is done with several games still to play, this puts them on track for a first Ligue 1 title since the 1958-59 season and a first major honour since their Coupe de France win in the 1996-97 campaign.
It has also been a marked improvement from last season, when they finished ninth in the league.
Nice have scored a meagre 14 league goals this term but have conceded just four times, boasting the best defence across Europe under Francesco Farioli.
Several players have been critical to this run, with Liverpool target Khephren Thuram, Manchester United-linked centre-back Jean-Claire Todibo, and former Bayern Munich defender Dante all playing central roles.
Among their other impressive performers is 24-year-old midfielder Hicham Boudaoui.
Largely operating as the right-sided central midfielder (RCM) alongside Thuram on the left and Youssouf Ndayishimiye at the base of midfield, Boudaoui has offered some invaluable qualities going forward for a team that misses 1.6 of its 2.3 big chances created per game in Ligue 1.
This tactical analysis piece, in the form of a scout report, will provide an in-depth analysis of Boudaouis performances across his clubs first 13 league matches in the 2023/24 campaign.
We will break down his role within his clubs tactics and examine what he has brought to Nice during this period.
Hicham Boudaoui Player Profile
Boudaoui hails from Algeria and has already won 12 caps for his national team, even featuring in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
He kickstarted his career in his home country with Paradou AC, making it into their first team in 2018.
The midfielder played 41 times for them, scoring once and assisting thrice, before moving to Nice in September 2019.
Prior to this season, he had played 108 times for the Ligue 1 outfit, scoring and assisting nine times apiece.
Last season, Boudaoui showed immense versatility, operating across the midfield and even as a winger when needed.
However, in a more settled team this time around, he has received chances in his preferred central midfield position, as evidenced by his heatmap.
The heatmap also shows his tendency to move forward, particularly on the right wing, when opportunities arise.
Given the defensive cover offered by his fellow midfielders and Nices organisation, the Algerian has often had the license to either carry the ball into attacking areas or play high-risk passes to one of his forwards.
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