The group stage draw took place yesterday afternoon. The Gym ended up in a rather balanced group.
Placed in Pot 2, the Aiglons were able to avoid several dangerous clubs, but they inevitably faced the possibility of confronting a top seed. Fortunately, Nice dodged Arsenal, Hoffenheim, and Everton.
OGC Nice is indeed in Group K, along with Lazio Roma (Italy), Vitesse Arnhem (Netherlands), and Zulte Waregem (Belgium) as their opponents. Hereโs a brief introduction to the three teams.
LAZIO ROMA
Fifth in the last Italian championship โ notably ahead of AC Milan โ the Laziale are back in the Europa League, having reached the round of 16 in 2015/2016. Before being eliminated by Sparta Prague, the Italians emerged victorious โ and undefeated โ from their group ahead of Saint-รtienne, before knocking out Galatasaray in the round of 32.
Strengthened by the arrivals of Marusic (Ostend), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Di Gennaro (free agent), and Caicedo (Espanyol), the players from the capital began their season by winning the Italian Super Cup against Juventus after a thrilling finale (3-2). International forward Ciro Immobile and his teammates then started their Serie A campaign with a draw against SPAL (0-0).
Besides Ciro Immobile, Lazio boasts a few other well-known players in their squad: Luis Alberto (Spain), Filip Djordjevic (Serbia, formerly of Nantes), and Jordan Lukaku, Romelu’s younger brother. The coach is also very well-known: Simone Inzaghi.
ZULTE WAREGEM
Sixth in Jupiler Pro League last season, Zulte Waregem secured their Europa League spot after winning the Belgian Cup (victory on penalties against Ostend).
To find records of the Zulte club in the Europa League group stage, you have to go back to the 2013-14 season: the Belgians finished third in their pool, behind Wigan and Rubin Kazan.
Although they fell to Anderlecht in the Belgian Super Cup (2-1), Franck Dury’s squad won 3 of their first 4 league matches. Led by Nill De Pauw (ex-Guingamp), Aaron Leya Iseka (ex-Marseille), Saponjic, and Kaya, each scoring 2 goals, the Flemings currently hold the 3rd place in the Belgian top division.
OGC Nice will cross paths with Zulte Waregem again, having faced them in a friendly at the beginning of the 2015-2016 season (2-1 loss, goal by Germain). Cardinale was sent off before the hour mark for handling the ball outside the penalty area.
VITESSE ARNHEM
Like Zulte Waregem, Vitesse owes its spot in the Aiglons’ group to their national cup journey. Winning the Cup for the first time in their history, the Arnhem players finished the previous Eredivisie season in 5th place.
Previously, the club from the eastern Netherlands had never reached this stage of the competition, stumbling at the 3rd qualifying round in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
After losing โ on penalties โ the Super Cup against Feyenoord (1-1), Henk Fraserโs men had a successful league start, beating NAC (4-1) and then Roda (1-3), and are at the top of the standings after 2 games, thanks in part to newcomers Bruns (ex-Heracles Almelo), Linssen (Groningen), and Matavลพ (Augsburg). A former Ligue 1 player is also in the Dutch squad: Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who played for Saint-รtienne in 2014-2015 (9 goals, 3 assists).
THE SCHEDULE
OUR OPINION
Group K looks manageable, although the matches against Lazio will be risky. OGC Nice must avoid slipping up as they did against Napoli.
