OGC Nice faces the Austrian club Salzburg tonight at 7:00 PM. It’s a perilous but important trip, as the team, known as the Gym, must salvage their pride in a complicated European campaign.
Learning in the Europa League is difficult. The people of Nice know something about that. While they are imperious in the national league (leaders of the standings and still unbeaten), the Eagles struggle more to showcase their abilities against opponents of a higher level.
Following the inaugural defeat against Schalke 04 (0-1), the Eagles succumbed in Russia at Krasnodar (5-2) after a completely unbridled match. Nice held on for 75 minutes before collapsing at the end of the game.
To try to secure an honorable place in their group, Nice absolutely must win at the Red Bull Arena. This will not be easy against the Austrian club. But Nice’s coach Lucien Favre believes: “It’s probably our last chance. We started with a defeat against Schalke. In Krasnodar, we could have done better and won the match at the end. It’s like that; sometimes things turn out well for us, other times they don’t. It’s clear that tomorrow we need to get a result, otherwise, it will be almost impossible. We only have one choice: to win! But to win, we will need to play and play well.”
The Opponent
The Austrian club will also be an opponent not to be taken lightly. Indeed, they are the current triple champions of the Austrian Bundesliga, with a total of ten national titles since 1994. Salzburg has also won four Austrian cups, the most recent being their latest triumph.
The club has been continuously present in European competitions for the past ten years, advancing out of the Europa League group stages in 2012 (round of 16), 2014 (round of 16), and 2015 (round of 16). Last year, Red Bull Salzburg was eliminated in the Europa League playoffs by Dinamo Minsk on penalties. This year, after losing in the Champions League playoffs to Dinamo Zagreb, Salzburg finds themselves in the Europa League.
In the league, the Salzburg club is in third place and shows a rather positive record: after 11 matches, they have 5 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses. The Austrians have scored 19 goals and conceded only 9.
Salzburg can rely on their captain, Jonathan Soriano, the main star of the team and a formidable striker. Scorer of 6 goals and 2 assists in 8 league matches, Soriano also shone in the previous Europa League matchday by netting a poacher’s goal against Schalke. He will be one of the key men to mark for the Eagles seeking points.
The Absentees
The prolonged absences of Maxime Le Marchand, Mickaël Le Bihan, and Gautier Lloris (injured) are still mourned.
Italian star Mario Balotelli is also absent due to an adductor injury.
On the Austrian side, Christian Schwegler, Christoph Leitgeb, and Smail Prevljak are out with knee injuries. Wanderson has a thigh injury. The French player Dayot Upamecano is also doubtful, having suffered a hip injury.
The Nice Squad
Goalkeepers: Hassen, Cardinale, Benitez
Defenders: Souquet, Baysse, Ricardo, Dalbert, Dante, Sarr
Midfielders: Belhanda, Seri, Lusamba, Eysseric, Walter, Bodmer, Cyprien, Koziello, Marcel
Forwards: Pléa, Bosetti, Donis
The Referee
The match referee will be Yevhen Aranovskiy, assisted on the lines by Serhiy Bekker and Oleksandr Voytyuk.
