Apam, Rool, and Hellebuyck are suspended. Koné, Hognon, and Yahaya are injured. The lineup fielded by Frédéric Antonetti might be unusual at the Ray stadium this Saturday, but there’s no doubt that the selected players will be eager to prove to the fans that they are capable of performing just as well as their absent teammates. On the other hand, Le Havre will come with the firm intention of fulfilling the storied tradition of French Cup surprises. Thus, with the wind in their sails, the teammates of Le Havre’s guardian angel, Christophe Revault, will come to Nice aiming to add a first Ligue 1 team to their list of conquests. For this, Le Havre can rely on their prolific scorer, Guillaume Hoarau, who has already amassed 18 goals and 4 assists since the start of the season, totalizing all competitions, making him the leading scorer in Ligue 2 with 15 goals.
The task appears challenging but far from impossible for the Nice team, which has nonetheless proven their tenacity at home with convincing results that keep them in the upper part of the Ligue 1 standings. It remains to be seen if Lady Luck in the Cup will be as forgiving to the Azureans, who have already been eliminated from the League Cup like their opponents from Le Havre (defeated at Niort 3-2) but managed to reach the round of 32 in the French Cup by knocking out Camon (2-4) and Pontivy (1-2).
Other matches will interest clubs from the South; Fréjus will seek qualification in Corsican territory at Ajaccio, Monaco faces a tough trip to Brest, whereas Bastia should be able to advance against the CFA2 team of Viry-Chatillon, with two major clashes featuring Ligue 1 teams: Auxerre-St Etienne and Lorient-Valenciennes.
The Nice squad: Letizi, Lloris, Kante, Jeunechamp, Yahia, Gace, Diakite, Echouafni, Traore, Ederson, Balmont, Kone, Laslandes, Bamogo, Modeste, Job, Larbi, and Pastor.
