Claude Puel’s men host Caen this Saturday (8 pm) for a highly tense match. Both teams are within reach of the first relegated team, Evian, so woe to the loser.
How hard it is to secure those 2-3 points synonymous with staying up. The schedule seems favorable (hosting Caen and Lens, traveling to Saint-Etienne and Toulouse), but as long as the Aiglons haven’t reached the 44 points set by Claude Puel, the club and supporters will remain under pressure. The objective: to avoid the stress of last season when Nice secured its spot on the penultimate day thanks to the Evian-Sochaux match, the relegation final.
Good against Paris-Saint-Germain, they were also good in Rennes last week for the same result: a defeat. The reason? A cruel lack of efficiency and yet another refereeing error with an unjustly disallowed goal for Eric Bauthéac. To earn points against Caen, they will need to use the same ingredients as in Reims (1-0 victory). The match will be played without Simon Pouplin, injured in Brittany, but with the return of Mouez Hassen in goal. Upfront, the Bauthéac-Plea-Carlos Eduardo trio should logically be retained.
“I would prefer to be higher and with more points, but we are in a situation we must accept. Relegation is not secured, so we won’t act as if it’s done. We have a very important match on Saturday, and we need to manage it well,” confesses Didier Digard at a press point.
And Caen? Forgotten at the end of the first half of the season (20th and last), they had a remarkable January and February (6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss). But with four matches to go, Patrice Garande’s protégés are in a complicated situation. With a small cushion over the red zone, they are playing more than ever for their survival in Ligue 1. The Caen eleven will be without their playmaker and top scorer, Julien Féret, who is injured in the thigh. An absence that could weigh heavily, considering the influence of the former Rennes player in Stade Malherbe’s play.
“Right now, it’s a bit more complicated for them because we know they had to put in a lot of effort. We know that we’ll need to be really ready, do everything to win this match, and try to ‘scratch’ a few places if possible,” concludes the red-and-black captain.
The Allianz Riviera has been desperately waiting for a victory since last January 23 and the win against Marseille (2-1). With only five home victories this season, Nice ranks 18th in the “home” standings, a frightening statistic. With the return of the Populaire Sud, who missed the Nice-PSG match, the Aiglons seem poised to secure their spot in the league. By around 9:50 pm, they will know their fate.
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