So it is a surprising Toulouse, ninth in Ligue 1, who will come to try and continue a fine series in a Nice cauldron that has been less boiling since the strike initiated by the South Brigade, which should resume service tonight, albeit continuing the fight it has led for several weeks. Some absences on the TFC side with Aubey, Douchez (suspended), Santos, Pentecôte, Camara, Dao (pubis), Batlles (hematoma), Bonnet, Robic. However, the club’s news is more on the transfer side with the arrival of the Brazilian Paulo Cesar, who will be part of the Toulouse group that has not won on Nice soil since the 1986-87 season. In the first leg, TFC had won by the smallest margin thanks to a goal by Jérémy Mathieu, while the last two encounters at the Ray had seen the eaglets win both times (2-1 and 1-0).
On the Nice side, the cruel disillusionment in the Coupe de France did not allow the eaglets to build a morale of steel before receiving their Toulouse counterparts, but the importance of this encounter must be very present in everyone’s minds. Indeed, a bad result, though not catastrophic, would push the people of Nice further down the rankings and the club into a crisis too often inherent to this type of situation. Some absences will be deplored in the Nice team with Bellion still injured, Rool and Apam suspended, but the good news is in the Nice goal where the young Lloris will return after his short period of unavailability.
A group of 18 players was thus concocted by Frédéric Antonetti, who preferred to leave aside Fauconnier, Gace, Larbi, and Touré to finally trust Lloris, Grégorini, Abardonado, Fanni, Kanté, Scotto, Varrault, Veigneau, Echouafni, Balmont, Diakité, Ederson, Traoré, Vahirua, Laslandes, Koné, Moussilou, and Camara. It remains to be hoped that the island coach’s choices will be the right ones and that the football gods will be more lenient than at the last encounter at the Ray, which saw a lackluster Lens take the three points of victory.
After the commando operation, it is thus almost an impossible mission that will play out for the eaglets in the coming matches and neither the reception of Bordeaux nor the trip to Lyon will prevent believing otherwise. So, the verdict tonight at 10:30 PM to know if there is still hope to dream of another season in Ligue 1 or if the nightmare of Ligue 2 is approaching by leaps and bounds.
