Tomorrow night, OGC Nice (31st, 2 points) will face Glasgow Rangers (10th, 7 points) at 9 PM for this 5th day of the Europa League. A match synonymous with a last chance?
Two points in four games. That is the grim record we can draw from this start of the Europa League campaign. Up against some heavyweights like Real Sociedad or Lazio Rome, the team from Nice has not yet managed to find their footing in this competition.
Things started promisingly with an interesting draw against a reduced Sociedad team. However, this was followed by two defeats with heavy consequences in Rome and then against the Hungarians from Ferencvaros. While the end of the match against Twente gave hope back to the fans, the situation is far from dramatic.
This was confirmed by Franck Haise in a press conference: “Of course, we know the importance of winning matches because we haven’t won in the Europa League, but there are four matches to play, still 12 points to grab. To qualify, we won’t need all 12 points. I don’t want to put pressure. We always have that. We want to win matches, but that’s not what makes you win.” A view shared by goalkeeper Marcin Bulka: “it’s not the last chance match. Of course, we all know that it’s a very important match for us that can change a lot of things. Of course, the victory counts a little more than it did lately. But well, we are, we are positive.”
Ride the positive wave
OGCN is currently on a good streak of five undefeated matches across all competitions. A wave of positivity that propelled the Aiglons to the 5th position in Ligue 1 after their triumphs against Monaco, Brest and more recently Strasbourg.
Strong in gameplay especially in the second half, the red and black team still struggles at the beginning of matches. Having conceded the first goal in six of their last seven matches, the team from Nice has shown an undeniable strength of character, acknowledged by Franck Haise. “I don’t have a completely rational explanation to give you for why we concede,” bemoaned the coach, while nonetheless highlighting the quality of his squad.
Franck Haise is feeling better, his squad less so…
That might be where the problem lies. While the coach assured everyone about his health condition after being taken to the emergency room on Sunday night, the team’s roster is once again thinning.
Besides the confirmed absences of Jonathan Clauss, Terem Moffi, Ali Abdi, and Morgan Sanson due to injury, the coach will also have to deal with two suspended players Sofiane Diop and Moise Bombito. But that’s not all… “Dante and Jérémie Boga were unable to train on Tuesday. I hope to recover one or two players. Youssouf Ndayishimiye and Abdelmonem Mohamed need to train collectively today.” In other words, with potentially nine or ten main players absent, it’s hard to put together a solid starting eleven. One that doesn’t concede the first goal…
To address these deficiencies, Franck Haise hinted that the starting eleven could include several surprises. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll only have thirteen or fourteen professional players on the match roster. So there are chances that we might see some young players from the elite group or the U19 team. Maybe some will even start.”
So, it would take a clever guess to predict what the composition of the Gym will be tomorrow evening at 9 PM. One thing is certain, the players who will step onto the Allianz Riviera pitch will need to have the determination to fight. Otherwise, the situation will become complicated for OGC Nice.
