After their large victory against Rennes, OGC Nice travels to Angers this Sunday. Facing an opponent in poor form, the Gym wants to continue its good run and keep climbing the standings. All the pre-match information for this encounter can be found here.
The OGC Nice is undoubtedly experiencing its best form since the start of the 2025/26 season. Convincing victors against Rennes (5-2), the Eagles have confirmed that all the signals are green or almost on the Côte d’Azur. Attacking efficiency, collective spirit, an Elye Wahi on top form: Nice’s performance against the Bretons ticked all the boxes of a full performance over those ninety minutes of play. The men of Olivier Pantaloni have found their cruising speed and could now continue on a new positive spiral.
The match against Angers (kick-off Sunday at 17:15) could prove to be a accelerator in Nice’s impressive run. The Azure week was, however, touched by bad news. Wednesday, the OGC Nice announced the death of Olivier Pantaloni’s father. Although the red and black coach was able to lead the first two training sessions of the week, he then returned to his native Corsica to be close to his loved ones during this moment of pain and sadness. His absence was subsequently compensated by his staff. The native of Ajaccio made his return to the training center on Friday. His presence on the touchline this Sunday was never in question.
A group behind its coach
Under these circumstances, a Nice victory on Angers’ home soil would be a nice symbol for Olivier Pantaloni. For this match, the OGC Nice coach will be able to count on all his troops (except long-term absentees). Axel Witsel and Ali Abdi will be back in the squad. The former had declared himself unavailable against Rennes in the final moments after a muscle alert. The Tunisian international could finally start his season after several weeks out due to a groin problem.
The last trip to Angers went well for Sofiane Diop and his teammates. Last March, OGC Nice won there at Raymond-Kopa stadium (2-0), in a crucial match in the fight for survival at the time. The Eagles made the difference in the second half thanks to a goal from Melvin Bard and a sublime lob from Elye Wahi in the dying moments of the match. Nice knows the ingredients to triumph over the SCO and wants to pull off another feat this Sunday.
Across from them, Angers occupies 15th place in Ligue 1, six points behind Nice and with the same number of points as ESTAC, the current playoff team. After a mixed start to the season, SCO is already in urgent need of taking points to escape the bottom of the standings. Stéphane Gilli’s players have won only once in their last five league outings. Even worse, Anthony Lopes and his team have conceded twelve goals over the same period.
Likely lineups:
Angers: Lopes – Raolisoa, Arcus, Gerginon, Camara, Kalulu – Belkhdim, Belkebla (C), Van den Boomen – Sbaï, Peter
Nice: Diouf – Abdelmonem, Youssouf (C), Mandza – Clauss, Boudaoui, Coulibaly (or Witsel), Nkounkou – Diop – Amoura, Wahi.
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