On the menu tonight, Valenciennes and its last spectacular performance in a Beaujoire stadium in Nantes, which is still stunned by the heavy defeat inflicted on their canaries with an unequivocal score of 5 goals to 2. The main architect of this festival, Steve Savidan, who scored 4 goals last Saturday, will need to be closely watched like milk on a stove by a Nice defense that has found a good rhythm in recent meetings. However, coach Antonetti’s men must also be vigilant against their former teammate, Sébastien Roudet, who is having an excellent season under VA colors.
On the Nice side, Varrault is injured while Bellion has just returned and the coach’s choices have left out Touré, Scotto, Moreau, Larbi, and Fauconnier. A awaited return, that of Cyril Rool who has just served his 4-match suspension.
For the Northerners, Abdes Ouaddou and Khaled Kharroubi are in the infirmary along with Rudy Mater and Guillaume Ripert.
Overall complete squads can enable Antoine Kombouaré and Frédéric Antonetti to line up their best formation on the green rectangle of a Nungesser stadium that should be well filled after a large commercial operation launched with the Valenciennes public.
Despite the temperature, it’s promised to be a hot Saturday evening for the Nice players with, in case of victory, an exit from the relegation zone, which could be the cherry on top of a Nice cake that is starting to look good in the Ligue 1 showcase.
The teams:
Nice: Letizi, Lloris – Abardonado, Apam, Fanni, Gace, Kanté, Veigneau – Balmont, Diakité, Echouafni, Ederson, Rool, Traoré, Vahirua – Camara, Koné, Laslandes
Absent: Varrault (injured), Bellion (returning), Fauconnier, Larbi, Moreau, Scotto, Touré (coach’s choice)
Valenciennes: Coque, Penneteau – Bezzaz, Chelle, Flachez, Liron, M. Traoré – Doumeng, Haddad, Jeovânio, Paauwe, Saez, Roudet – Bratu, Hassli, Dossevi, Dufresne, Savidan.
Absent: Ouaddou (shoulder rehabilitation), Kharroubi (ankle), Bourgeois, Grondin, Silvestri, and D. Traoré (CFA2)
