Having been defeated twice by Nice at the Vรฉlodrome last season (1-0 in Ligue 1 and 5-4 in the Coupe de France), the Marseille players will want to take their revenge on the 4th day of the championship. Bielsa’s men will need to confirm their victory in Guingamp (1-0) and the Nice team will look to recover from their home defeat against Bordeaux (1-3).
OM will want, this Friday evening, to cleanse the affront of last season when OGC Nice won in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in the Mediterranean derby. In Nice as in Marseille, memories linger especially of that January 2014 evening when Nice’s “minots” team eliminated Marseille with a rare score of 5-4 in front of fewer than 10,000 spectators.
Since then, much water has flowed under the bridges. Nice barely saved themselves (17th) and Marseille ended in a disappointing 6th place, meaning a season without European competition and a change of coach. Josรฉ Anigo made way for the very experienced Chilean Marcelo Bielsa. “El Loco,” as he is nicknamed, who, for a month now, has been blowing hot and cold in the Phocean city. Very good in preparation but only average in the championship with a victory last Saturday in Guingamp (1-0) but a draw in Bastia (3-3) and already a home loss to Montpellier (0-2).
For Nice, the situation is different. They perfectly started the new season with a spectacular match against Toulouse and a 3-2 victory before securing a valuable point in Lorient (0-0) thanks to their goalkeeper, Mouez Hassen, who was unbeatable. Last Saturday, the streak ended. Claude Puel’s men fell against the championship leader, Girondins de Bordeaux (1-3) after having led 1-0. The match could have gone differently if the referee, Mr. Lannoy, and his assistants had been up to par (2 unjustly disallowed goals and a very harsh penalty).
“We look forward, the players have the proper attitude and reaction after such a match. Everything didn’t go our way (match against Bordeaux) but the team is evolving with ambition and the intentions of play are interesting,” Claude Puel said during the traditional mid-week press conference.
Facing Olympique de Marseille, Dario Cvitanich will return to the group after a 15-day absence due to a muscle strain. Nevertheless, he remains very uncertain. He and Mathieu Bodmer, who was injured in the ribs, will take advantage of the international break (resuming on September 13 with Nice-Metz) to get back in shape. This clash against Marseille will also be an opportunity to see Julien Vercauteren for the second time, very active and interesting against Bordeaux.
“It will be a special match for me because I spent a third of my career at OM. Before the match, there will be some emotion but we must quickly be focused, we’re coming to take something. I am ready if the coach needs me to start or come into play,” Souleymane Diawara explained during his first appearance in front of the journalists.
Photo credit: ogcnice.com
