Finally! Paris Saint-Germain travels to Nice for one of the clashes of the season. Without their star Neymar, the Parisians will have to face Balotelli and his teammates, buoyed by a superb victory at Guingamp.
In a press conference, Unai Emery stated he expects “a difficult match” this Sunday at the Allianz Riviera (kick-off at 1pm). “The Nice team will play with a lot of desire, in a full stadium. They had a great previous season. We even lost 3-1 there. It was difficult. So it’s a good challenge, also with the aim of showing our strength and validating our good performances away from home. We will need to be very focused, involved, and impose our game on a team that loves possession and is difficult to press. It’s a good challenge for us and for the rest of the championship.”
THE NICE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Cardinale, Benitez
Defenders: Marlon, Sarr, Souquet, Burner, Dante, Le Marchand
Midfielders: Makengo, Cyprien, Seri, Lees-Melou, Tameze
Forwards: Plea, Srarfi, Saint-Maximin, Sacko, Balotelli
THE PARIS SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Areola, Trapp
Defenders: Dani Alves, Meunier, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Berchiche
Midfielders: Diarra, Lo Celso, Verratti, Rabiot, Nkunku, Draxler
Forwards: Cavani, Mbappé, Di Maria
THE REFEREE
The match will be refereed by François Letexier. He will be assisted by Cyril Mugnier and Frédéric Hebrard.
As a reminder, François Letexier had (very poorly) refereed Nice in Monaco in January and against Angers in September. Last year, the referee took rigorous action against Lille and Caen.
