The dream continues within a red and black team which, after last season’s dreadful performance, seems to have found the right rhythm, now pointing to an honorable fifth place, tied in points with Valenciennes. However, this match against Nancy will be far from a walk in the park for Frédéric Antonetti’s charges, even though they have proven that despite many absences due to the Africa Cup of Nations, they should be counted on to disrupt the top teams in the league. Financially, the last two face-offs tilt in favor of Nice with a draw (0-0) last year and a win the season before (1-0), and even if Nancy hasn’t won at Le Ray in over 25 years, they still need to be wary of this other surprise team from the 2007-2008 season. Who would have said that this year, this Nice-Nancy game would be played against a European backdrop?
There’s no major shakeup expected in the Nice squad who will still be without Vincent Hognon, who is recovering from right knee surgery, and Yahaya, who has undergone surgery on the metatarsus of his right foot. The team will likely be quite similar to the one lined up in Alsace, and it is hoped that Ederson will be as sparkling as he was last week. On the Nancy side, the elimination in the Coupe de la Ligue against Lens (3-0) will certainly have left some scars even though Pablo Correa had rotated his squad significantly for that match. However, it remains that Nancy is strong defensively, evidenced by their third place in the European defensive standings just behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan with only 0.55 goals conceded per match. Nice’s attackers are forewarned, the Lorraine stronghold will be tough to capture this Sunday!
A match that smells strongly of Europe, it’s been a long time since the Ray hill experienced this, and it’s almost certain that the stadium should be heavily packed this Sunday, to support the eagles who, after taking off, are soaring mighty on the peaks of Ligue 1.
