Lucien Favre's charges leapfrogged Monaco at the summit, although the principality side can go top again with a positive result against PSG
Mario Balotelli's ninth league goal of the season helped Nice beat Guingamp 3-1 at the Allianz Riviera as they returned to the summit of the Ligue 1 table.
Lucien Favre's men had dropped to second place following four draws in their past five games, but they went one point clear of Monaco again ahead of Sunday evening's encounter between the Stade Louis II side and Paris Saint-Germain.
Alassane Plea ensured his side got off to a fine start when he opened the scoring in the 11th minute after being set up by Valentin Eysseric.