After the crucial defeat in the derby against Monaco, Nice welcomes Troyes, who are fighting for survival. Anything less than a victory would almost bury all hopes of seeing Nice in European competition next season.
For OGC Nice, the hour of the last chance has almost struck. A victory against ESTAC this Sunday at 3 PM would keep Nice in the race for Europe.
16th in the standings, with a 2-point lead over the playoff spot (Saint-Etienne), Troyes haven’t won in 3 matches. Nevertheless, Bruno Irles‘ players pose some problems for the big teams in the league, with a recent draw against Strasbourg and a strong performance against Monaco.
Even though Troyes visits the Allianz with many quality absentees (Gallon, Rami, Salmier, Azamoum, Domingues, and Suk), they will need to watch out for several players like the fullback Giulian Biancone, who has been showing great talent since the start of the season, the tireless midfielder Xavier Chavalerin, the former Nîmes player Renaud Ripart, and the young Canadian striker Iké Ugbo.
For this decisive match, Christophe Galtier will once again be able to count on his captain Dante, back from a two-match suspension. The reigning French champion coach might once again rely on Billal Brahimi, the best Nice player against Monaco. There remains a question mark up front regarding which two strikers will be selected. The presence of Andy Delort is certain, but who will partner with him? Amine Gouiri, who has been in a slump for more than a month, or the Dane Kasper Dolberg, who started the last two matches for Nice?
Probable line-ups:
OGC Nice in 4-4-2:
Benitez — Lotomba, Todibo, Dante (c), Bard — Stengs or Kluivert, Thuram, Rosario, Brahimi or Kluivert — Delort, Dolberg or Gouiri.
Troyes in 5-3-2:
Moulin — Kaboré, Biancone, Palmer-Brown, Koné, Conté — Ripart, Kouamé, Tardieu (c), Chavalerin — Ugbo.
