After a two-week break due to international matches, OGC Nice returns to the championship this weekend. The Niçois will challenge LOSC on their home turf in a match where Nemanja Pejcinovic makes his return to the central axis after a month of absence.
In doubt before the international break following their elimination in the European cup playoff against Limassol and sluggish league start, the eagles are being closely watched.
This international break allowed Claude Puel’s men to identify the real problems at the start of the season while seeing Mathieu Bodmer arrive from PSG for the central defender position. A significant reinforcement, given the difficulties experienced by Nice’s defense (9 goals conceded in 6 matches).
For this match, the Azurian club will have to do without Bruins, injured in the thigh, Mendy with a calf injury, Eysseric out for a month following a partial cruciate ligament tear, and Traoré sidelined due to an adductor injury. Besides Pejcinovic’s return, the absence of Eysseric and Mendy could radically change Claude Puel’s tactical approach for this match. The absence of Mendy and Eysseric, two of Gym’s best players since the start of the season, should lead the Azurian coach to leave the initiative to the Lille players and consequently lower his ambitions.
In defense, the Bodmer/Pejcinovic pairing seems the most probable and would be unprecedented. Despite the lack of automation between the two players, on paper, this duo is very promising. On the other side, the Lille players will want to confirm their good start to the season, having recently secured a victory against St Etienne and a draw at Rennes. Despite the departure of several key players during the offseason due to financial issues and the controversy surrounding the sale of Thauvin, LOSC remains a heavyweight in the championship.
But Lille supporters seriously doubt their club’s ambitions and project. A demonstration is organized just before the match by the Dogues Virage Est: “Like many supporters, we were particularly shocked by the turn of the Lille transfer window. We no longer relate to this new LOSC and have many questions about the objective and ambition of our leaders,” explains the DVE statement.
The Eagles will have to be doubly cautious of the prideful reaction of René Girard’s players, who are being booed by their supporters and are portrayed as a declining club by the French sports press.
