This Saturday, the Gym will head to Dijon to meet DFCO for the 25th day of L1 (kick-off at 8:00 p.m.). At the Gaston-Gérard stadium, the Eagles will look to bounce back after two consecutive defeats in L1.
The match will be the best way to prepare for the immense event that awaits the Gym next week… “It’s clear that we, as coaches, are also focused on Moscow because it comes quickly after,” declared Lucien Favre to the press. “It’s been a long time since there’s been a Europa League round of 16 here. It’s the European Cup, Lokomotiv is a good team, they are 1st in the Russian championship with an 8-point lead over the others, which is no small feat. That means they must have good players. We’ve already watched them, of course, but we can’t focus on them now, as the priority is Saturday’s match.”
Trained at OGC Nice, where he wore the jersey 209 times in the championship, Cédric Varrault spoke on the official Dijon FCO website before facing his former club: “Matches against Nice are always special for me. That’s where I was given the chance to become a professional, and it’s my home region. Even though there have been many changes in the Nice club, I still know several members of the staff and administrative team, so it’s always a pleasure to face OGC Nice.”
For this 100th DFCO match in the elite, the 38-year-old defender and captain believes “there’s something to be done,” especially since the Dijon team are “performing well at home.” Indeed, the Gaston-Gérard stadium has taken on the appearance of a fortress this season, with Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men presenting the 4th best home record in the elite, behind the top 3 teams (Paris, Monaco, and Marseille).
“But in my opinion, we are not competing in the same category,” continues the 2006 League Cup finalist. “It’s still a big team in the championship. Before the last two matches, they had a series of victories to climb up the rankings. So, we must maintain the same playing philosophy to achieve a good result. We are capable of it; we’ve already done it against good teams at home this year.”
THE DIJON SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Allain, Leroy, Reynet
Defenders: Chafik, Djilobodji, Haddadi, Lautoa, Rosier, Varrault, Yambéré
Midfielders: Abeid, Amalfitano, Balmont, Massouema
Forwards: Sliti, Jeannot, Kwon, Saïd, Tavares
THE NICE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Cardinale, Benitez
Defenders: Marlon, Sarr, Coly, Dante, Perraud
Midfielders: Makengo, Cyprien, Seri, Lees-Melou, Tameze, Mendy
Forwards: Plea, Balotelli, Srarfi, Saint-Maximin, Sacko
THE REFEREE
The referee of the match will be Nicolas Rainville.
