For the 23rd day of Ligue 1, OGC Nice will host Paris Saint-Germain, the leader of the French championship, tomorrow afternoon (5 PM) at the Stade du Ray.
After playing Montpellier 15 days ago, Nice will face the Parisian test tomorrow, or rather the “Qatari” challenge. PSG, the leader of the French championship, will naturally be the favorite for this match. Carlo Ancelotti’s players have been undefeated since November 27, 2011, following a blow from their eternal rival Marseille (3-0). Since then, Paris has played seven matches without a single defeat, including six victories.
The situation is quite different for the Azuréens who have not yet won in the championship in 2012. The Eagles’ last victory dates back to December 17, a 2-0 home success against Valenciennes, notably thanks to a double from Anthony Mounier, the Eagles’ number one offensive asset.
Palun and Mouloungui return, Alex starting
To hope for a result against PSG, René Marsiglia can count on Lloyd Palun and especially Eric Mouloungui, returning from the Africa Cup of Nations after a remarkable run with Gabon that took them to the quarter-finals (1-0 defeat to Mali). The Panthers, under former Nice coach Gernot Rohr, hadn’t reached this stage of the competition since 1996. The Nice captain, and former Parisian, Didier Digard is also expected to make his return after a short absence. Elliot Grandin, who quietly exited last Saturday’s match against Ajaccio (1-1), remains uncertain.
On the Paris Saint-Germain side, while Javier Pastore is definitely out with a thigh injury, the club from the capital is expected to field its three “star” winter transfer recruits. Thus, Alex, Maxwell, and Thiago Motta will, unsurprisingly, be starters for this match.
Nice, still the Parisians’ bogey team?
In the last five seasons at home, Nice has prevailed four times against the Parisians. This is quite an impressive statistic that few clubs can boast of. The Eagles have a good habit of succeeding in their games against PSG, to the point of becoming the true bogey team for the club. But last season, Sylvain Armand’s teammates turned things around with a clear victory (3-0) on the Azurean pitch. The former Nantes player scored, followed by Hoarau and Giuly.
