This Thursday, OGC Nice travels to face Celta Vigo in Spain, as part of the third day of the Europa League. After two consecutive defeats, the Aiglons can no longer afford to make mistakes. All the pre-match information for this match can be found here.
OGC Nice began its 2025/2026 Europa League campaign just as it experienced the previous one: poorly! After only two matches played, Jonathan Clauss and his teammates have a point tally stuck at zero. As a reminder, the Gym was defeated by Roma (1-2) before suffering another loss against Fenerbahce (1-2), without much to show for their performances. As a result, the Aiglons are still chasing a European victory for more than two and a half years now. At that time, the Nice club was led by a certain Didier Digard.
Since then, OGC Nice has almost become a laughingstock among French teams on the European stage. Under Franck Haise, as under his predecessor, Francesco Farioli, the Aiglons have never been able to win a single European match. There is thus an urgency to stop this negative spiral and prove that Nice can contribute to the crucial UEFA points race. For this, Sofiane Diop and his teammates are heading for a second consecutive away game. They will head to Spain and the city of Vigo, to face the local club, Celta (kick-off at 9 p.m. at Stade Balaidos).
The three points, a crucial capital
Aside from long-term absentees — Ndayishimiye, Abdelmonem, Bombito, Moffi — Franck Haise should have his entire squad available for this match. Once again, managing OGC Nice captain, Dante, will be crucial. The Brazilian returned last weekend during the victory against OL (3-2) but was substituted after an hour of play and was later seen with ice packs on his knees.
Meanwhile, Ali Abdi is expected to rejoin the red and black squad. Sent off against Monaco before the break, the Tunisian international has served his suspension and should be part of the trip to Spain. As with the start of the competition, the Côte d’Azur coach will likely make several changes to his starting eleven, as Nice plays matches every three days this October.
On the other hand, Celta Vigo occupies the 13th spot in the Europa League. For their return to European competition, the Spaniards first lost to Stuttgart (1-2, with a goal by former Nice player Badredine Bouanani for the Germans) before securing their first victory against the Greek side PAOK (3-1). In the Iberian team, the experienced Iago Aspas (38 years old) and his attacking partner Borja Iglesias, who has already scored two goals since the start of the competition, will be players to watch.
Probable line-ups:
Celta: Radu – Fernandez, Starfelt, Mingueza – Rueda, Damian, Moriba, Alonso – Aspas, Iglesias, Swedberg
Nice: Diouf – Mendy, Oppong, Dante (or Bah) – Clauss, Sanson, Vanhoutte, Bard – Cho, Carlos, Boga.
