Three days after the wild match in Guingamp (7-2 victory) and Carlos Eduardo’s quintuple, OGC Nice will start its Coupe de la Ligue campaign at home against Metz this Wednesday (6:30 PM). This round of 16 match will take place without the Popular South, which is suspended, providing an opportunity to rotate the squad and properly prepare for hosting Lyon on Saturday.
The euphoria fell since Sunday at 7 PM and the final whistle in Brittany. The well-deserved praise for Carlos Eduardo has given way to the preparation for the Coupe de la Ligue’s round of 16. Receiving Metz this Wednesday is significant. Last season’s quarter-finalists OGC Nice (defeated by Nantes 4-3) aim to make the Cups a target. The last title in their record dates back to 1997 with the French Cup victory against Guingamp.
“Cup matches are always knockout games. To go far in both Cups, a lot of luck is required. For us, as for many other clubs, it is an objective but only a few succeed,” explained Claude Puel, Gym’s coach, in a press conference.
Surprise in the Nice squad with the return of Dario Cvitanich. Six weeks after his left calf tear against… Metz (on September 13), the Argentine striker could return to the field and help the struggling Nice attack before the recital against Guingamp (9 goals in 10 Ligue 1 matches). This Coupe de la Ligue match provides an opportunity to give game time to players lacking minutes. Simon Pouplin, who arrived this summer as backup for Mouez Hassen, should play his first official match in his new colors. Other players like Julien Vercauteren and Neal Maupay are candidates for the starting eleven, unlike Niklas Hult, still dealing with a neck injury, and Jordan Amavi, suspended.
For Metz, the main objective remains to stay in Ligue 1. After a strong start to the season, the Lorrains have slowed down and haven’t won for a month (3-0 against Reims on September 27th). Currently 10th, FC Metz is relying on the Coupe de la Ligue to regain confidence before hosting Caen, a direct competitor to continue in Ligue 1 for another year. Missing will be striker Juan Falcon, who scored 4 goals in Ligue 1 but is injured, Gaetan Bussmann, and Serguei Krivets, who are rested. However, the Messins can count on the return from injury of their number one goalkeeper, Johan Carrasso, and captain Romain Rocchi.
“We had a lot of difficulties against this team in the league. FC Metz is well organized and recovers many balls to quickly counterattack. We expect another difficult match,” confided the Aiglons’ coach.
Nice meets FC Metz again, six weeks later, but this time in the Coupe de la Ligue. In the league match, Nice won 1-0 in stoppage time with a goal from Alexy Bosetti after an error from Guido Milan. A definite desire for revenge on the part of the Messins who still regret the point left on the road.
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