Kick-off for the final stretch of the season this Saturday! Here is the program for the 31st day of Ligue 1 Uber Eats, during which the Eagles will travel to Nantes with the ambition of returning to the top half of the table.
Ligue 1 Uber Eats is back this weekend. To start the final stretch of the season, Nice, ranked 11th, will challenge FC Nantes at La Beaujoire (kick-off at 3 p.m. this Sunday). Here is the squad selected by Adrian Ursea for this match against the Canaries.
Goalkeepers: Benitez, Cardinale
Defenders: Bambu, Daniliuc, Lotomba, Pelmard, Nsoki, Kamara, Saliba, Todibo
Midfielders: Trouillet, Thuram, Lees-Melou, Claude-Maurice
Forwards: Gouiri, Dolberg, Lopes, Ndoye, Myziane, Sellouki
Morgan Schneiderlin is suspended. “Youcef Atal relapsed,” explained Adrian Ursea, while the international full-back had entered the game 23 minutes from the end of the derby against OM (3-0). Suffering from a grade two adductor lesion, he is likely to be absent for another two weeks. Hicham Boudaoui is following medical predictions but still has to wait “two or three weeks” to fully recover from his meniscus injury.
As a reminder, six months ago, Nice won the first-leg match against FC Nantes (2-1) at the Allianz Riviera, in front of 1,000 OGC Nice supporters.
The Canaries’ State of Mind
The Canaries of FC Nantes preparing to host the Gym this Sunday for the championship.
FC Nantes is the first opponent of the Gym after the March international break. The Red and Blacks are set to meet the Canaries this Sunday at La Beaujoire as part of the 31st day of Ligue 1.
Since a draw at Nîmes on the 27th day (1-1), the Yellow House fell into the relegation zone for the first time this season. After one win, one draw, and one defeat in the last three outings, FCN will host OGC Nice as the first relegation-threatened with 28 points, one less than the 17th place, and 11 behind the Gym.
Since the arrival of former Toulouse coach Antoine Kombouaré, Nantes has been taking 1.5 points per game compared to 0.5 in the previous 14 outings.
Initially aligned in a 4-4-2 formation for their first four outings with their new coach, the Nantais adopted another approach for the two matches before the break. Organized in a 3-4-3 during the 1-2 win at Parc des Princes, they subsequently maintained a 5-3-2 formation during their match against FC Lorient.
Kombouaré: “Shake Up the Niçois”
Antoine Kombouaré appeared before the journalists’ microphones ahead of the match against OGC Nice.
“They need points to secure their place in the league,” said the coach appointed head of the Canaries last February. “It’s a team that will come with confidence following their recent victory against OM before the break. I expect a very complicated game. The Niçois like to have the ball, impose their game, and set the pace. It’s their style of play, and they will want to impose it on us. We’ll have to shake them up, disrupt their organized attacks. They also have very effective players like Gouiri, who currently has 12 goals and six assists. There are also players like Rony Lopes, Alexis Claude-Maurice… Their main strength remains in maintaining possession well.” he explains.
The experienced coach also emphasized the defensive solidity of his upcoming opponents: “Defensively, they have been able to rely on the returns of Todibo and Saliba. Nice also benefits from an experienced goalkeeper in Benitez. He’s good on his line and skilled in his footwork. They are still a strong team, with two wins and one draw in their last three matches, securing seven out of nine points. They are doing better. We will need to play a very great game on Sunday because this opponent is formidable (…) I especially hope that they perform well after our encounter.”
