Nancy had started their season well with a fine victory at Lens on the first day, but the pleasure lasted only a week for the Lorraine side, with a heavy defeat—even though they played with ten men against eleven for a large part of the match—on their own turf against the Rennes team led by Frédéric Antonetti. That does not mean the Eagles will take this encounter lightly, and history shows that Nice-Nancy matches have been fiercely contested in recent seasons (3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss over the last five years). Eric Roy greatly appreciated “the winning mentality” of his team in Lorient and is expected to field an almost identical squad against Nancy, except for Loïc Rémy, who was transferred to OM.
It will also be a much-anticipated return for Vahirua, who now plays for ASNL and will likely have fond memories of the times he celebrated goals with a paddling gesture on the Ray pitch. In the heart of the red and black house, morale is high, and smiles are truly a pleasure to see during training sessions. On the transfer front, according to a brief from RTL-L’Equipe, Didier Digard is expected to be loaned again to OGC Nice by Middlesbrough, a club playing in the English D2.
This match is important for both teams, who hope to score as many points as possible at the start of the championship to avoid being left behind by the big clubs and to avoid having to fight for survival—always a tricky situation to manage behind the scenes of a club. So mark your calendar for Saturday around 9 p.m. to see if the Eagles have managed to soar towards the Top 5 of Ligue 1 for the 2010-2011 season.
