Certainly, the two draws (1-1) conceded at home against Rennes and Toulouse are not very good outcomes, but without the talent of Hugo Lloris, OGC Nice could have even left their last two matches empty-handed and still with just three points on the board. Instead, they will visit their Provencal neighbors with only one point less in the standings. For this occasion, Olympique de Marseille will be without one of its key players, Djibril Cissé, whose MRI confirmed a hamstring strain that will keep him off the field for at least a week.
But even without the lively international, Marseille is still a formidable team at home, and the recent victory (1-2) in Caen has surely boosted the morale of Emon’s squad, who dreams of adding the Eaglets to their list of national conquests.
On the Nice side, the disappointment is likely certain after two results that seemed within reach against Rennes and Toulouse. However, a match lasts 90 minutes, and they will have to learn to stay focused until the last second to avoid squandering more points, which are so hard to secure at this level. Undoubtedly, some self-criticism could also be beneficial for the Nice bench, whose decisions may sometimes seem strange, such as introducing the new talent Job late in the game against Toulouse when, leading by a single point, bringing in Abardonado to strengthen the defense might have been a better move. Certainly, if the new red-and-black striker had scored the second crucial goal, the reasoning would have been different. But as it stands, the Toulouse forward took advantage of the situation to gift his team a point at the last minute… And what if Abardonado had been at the near post to block Gignac? “If” is a big word!
In short, this umpteenth derby between Marseillais and Niçois should once again live up to all its promises, and this is not just a joke!
