Currently at the bottom of the French Championship, OGC Nice travels tonight to the Stade Vélodrome to face Olympique de Marseille in the semi-final of the Coupe de la Ligue. The Aiglons will need to achieve a real feat if they want to reach the Stade de France…
Nothing to lose for Nice. Well, almost. For the second time in four years, the Aiglons are once again in the semi-final of the Coupe de la Ligue. In 2009, the Azuréens were defeated at home, to everyone’s surprise, during the penalty shootout, against Vannes. Tonight, it’s Marseille, an entirely different opponent, who await René Marsiglia’s men.
In a very poor position in the league (last with 18 points), Nice has the opportunity to forget their Ligue 1 troubles for the duration of a match and to confirm their beautiful run in the Coupe de la Ligue. To do so, they will need to overcome a Marseille team in full “boom,” which, match by match, strings together impressive performances and climbs the league table. Nonetheless, there’s no question for Didier Deschamps’ players to dismiss this competition. The Olympians want to retain their title and win the trophy for the third consecutive time, after 2010 and 2011.
Elliot Grandin returns to the Vel’
Southern derbies between Marseille and Nice often mean reunions for some players. While Loïc Remy and Rod Fanni will meet the Aiglons, three former Marseille players will be on the red and black side to help their teammates reach the Stade de France: central defender Renato Civelli, midfielders Camel Meriem and Fabrice Abriel, and especially the latest recruit of the Aiglons, Elliot Grandin. Fate has it that for his big return to France, the native of Caen confronts his former club Marseille, where he stayed for a year (2008-2009) under Eric Gerets.
It is the first time the two southern clubs face each other in the semi-final of a national cup. A challenging but not impossible task for Nice coach René Marsiglia: “It’s a match that comes at the right time and allows us to forget about the championship for a few days. The players were down after the Montpellier match on Saturday (0-1 defeat), but they have regained a good state of mind and will do everything to secure this final at the Stade de France. For them and for the supporters.”
Departure for Marseille postponed to this morning
Supposed to leave last night for the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Nice team had to cancel and postpone their departure to this morning due to bad weather conditions and the snowstorm that hit the Alpes-Maritimes and the entire PACA region yesterday. The Aiglons, who were initially supposed to travel by bus, will ultimately opt for air travel to reach the Phocaean city.
René Marsiglia has announced his squad of 18 players for the trip. A group once again decimated by injuries. As in the previous rounds of the Coupe de la Ligue, Raul Fernandez will guard the azurean goal.
Goalkeepers: Fernandez, Ospina.
Defenders: Civelli, Clerc, Fofana, Gomis, Malaga, M’Bow, Monzon.
Midfielders: Abriel, Anin, Meriem, Sablé.
Forwards: Dja Djedje, Gonçalves, Grandin, Guie Guie, Mounier.
Absent: Digard, Faé, Hellebuyck, Pejcinovic, Pentecôte (injured), Coulibaly, Diakité, Mouloungui, Palun (selection), Veronese (coach’s choice).
The winner will meet Olympique Lyonnais in the final, who narrowly defeated Lorient yesterday evening, winning 4-2 after extra time at the Stade François Coty.
