It will thus be a quite perilous trip to the Pink City that awaits Frédéric Antonetti’s men, and they will need to be well above the fray to bring back a point, or better, from this journey to the Southwest. On the medical side, the usual patients are still there with Vincent Hognon rehabilitating his freshly operated knee, Mohamed Yahaya recovering from a metatarsal fracture in his right foot, and Cyril Rool who has joined his unfortunate comrades due to a muscle lesion in his right thigh. It will therefore be a group almost identical to the one that traveled to Brittany, except for Bamogo who will go up against the Toulouse eleven, who would like to do as well as their colleagues from the rugby team.
Because Toulouse is not at its best at the moment and the last defeat of Elie Baup’s proteges in Strasbourg is not reassuring nor a morale booster for the team. Deprived of three starters who went to the sun of the CAN – Santos (Tunisia), Emana (Cameroon), and Mansare (Guinea), Toulouse is in need of a result against Nice, and this could well give the Azuréens an opportunity to practice the art of counterattacking which they have mastered since the start of the season. Elmander’s teammates will therefore rely on a good performance from their Swedish striker who has already found the net ten times this season in the league and four times in the European Cup.
In case of a new exploit in Toulouse, OGC Nice might even pull off the best move of the evening since Nancy, who is just one point behind in the standings, will make a high-risk trip to Auxerre, who is in the uncomfortable position of being the first relegation candidate. Third before hosting Olympique de Marseille at the Ray on February 10th, the dream could well become reality on Saturday shortly after 10 p.m.
