A week after the draw against Evian T-G (2-2) with the well-known incidents, Nice is traveling this Sunday (5pm) to Reims. Facing a direct rival for survival who has just changed their coach, the Niçois could take a big step towards securing their league position with a victory.
Indeed, the 2014-2015 season is more than peculiar for OGC Nice. Both on and off the field, the Nice club is making headlines, but not enough for their results. After the closed-door matches (total and partial) and the Ben Arfa affair, now comes the imprisonment of Souleymane Diawara this Friday. The player is implicated in an alleged group extortion case. Since Thursday evening, the central defender, who joined this summer, has been staying at Baumettes prison.
Focus on the match. With six matches remaining, Claude Puel’s men are far from being safe. With 38 points, they are short of four according to the specialists’ predictions who talk about the “famous” symbolic barrier of 42 points. The Aiglons had a close call last Saturday against Evian. They could very well have lost the match but also have regrets with Kévin Gomis’s own goal in the 78th minute.
“We feel the current discomfort around the club. But within the group, we always work in serenity. There are six matches left, we can still finish in the top half of the table. The group is young, we need time,” says Frédéric Gioria at a press briefing this Friday.
For the trip to Reims, note the return of Mathieu Bodmer to the group, recovering from a knock. Alassane Plea and Lloyd Palun are back from suspension. However, the playmaker Carlos Eduardo is serving his last match suspension for a dangerous tackle. The trip to Reims appears to be another tense match on the field because the opponent also seeks to save themselves. If OGC Nice shows difficulties against teams that “don’t play,” they will need to bring intensity and offer play this Sunday to get around a Reims team in a bad patch.
“We are not safe yet, but we played for survival last year, we know what it is and we are ready! That said, we shouldn’t put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. There are three home matches left, four away. We will need to be strong and win at least two,” explains Alexy Bosetti.
On the opposing side, things are not going well. Midweek, Jean-Luc Vasseur was dismissed. His assistant, Olivier Guégan, took his place with a mission to save Stade de Reims. With seven matches to go, the Champagne team is only three points ahead of the relegation zone and is coming off three consecutive defeats. At home, they are struggling with only one win in the last six matches (3-1 against Nantes on March 7).
In the first leg, both teams ended in a 0-0 stalemate after an extremely dull match. So this Sunday, after a nap, both teams cannot afford to fall asleep, as there are points to be taken to validate the “Ligue 1 ticket” for the 2015-2016 season.
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