This Sunday, Nîmes Olympique (18th, 31 pts) moves to Lens (6th, 53 pts) for the 34th day of Ligue 1. Still play-offs, the Crocs must continue to take points away. A task that does not look easy against the Blood and Gold, contenders for Europe and undefeated for 12 meetings.
“With you until the end, give everything”, it is now with this message posted on a banner hung directly on the gates of the field since this week that the Crocs train every day. There are five days left before reaching the end and to stay in Ligue 1, we will also have to take the three points. Nîmes remains on a single victory in seven games and missed the boat against three opponents of its championship with a defeat against Saint-Étienne (2-0) and two draws against Brest (1-1) and Strasbourg (1- 1).
Of the two, the Gardois could have won especially the second by leading the score in numerical superiority. “We should have come out with more points from those games but we are not too badly placed. From now on, we should not have any regrets.”, concedes Gaëtan Paquiez. The positive point is that Lorient has taken only one point more than the NW over this period and keeps only one unit in advance. The Nîmes are therefore still in the game to keep up without going through the roadblocks.
“Reproduce the match we played in Lille”
“It’s not that bad. After Strasbourg, we have the impression that we are once again the idiots of the village, the bad pupils of the class because we cannot win a match. The teams sell their skin dearly “, develops the coach Pascal Plancque. And by facing three teams in this home stretch that have European ambitions, they are not going to give a gift. The first is the RCL, ranked fifth, who dreams of qualifying for the Europa League.
Unbeaten for 12 games (seven draws for five wins), the northern team is the revelation of this season. It has been three months since Franck Haise’s men – January 23 against Nice (0-1) – have not suffered a setback in the league. “Their organization is very developed with a game system which it does not break out of certainties and benchmarks. On the other hand, behind closed doors it is not like with 40,000 spectators boiling, it is not insurmountable either. “, adds the trainer from Gard, who knows this audience well for having been the director of the training center from 2012 to 2016. It is in the mining town that he met Reda Hammache, the current sports director of the NO.
“I am more Lille than Lensois but I have a lot of respect for this club that I have known from the inside with a popular enthusiasm almost unique in France”, he adds. The concern is that even without an audience the RCL is performing well this season. To break through this solid 3-5-2, the Crocos who remain on two wins, a draw and a defeat in four trips will be inspired by the feat achieved by the leader before the truce. “We will try to reproduce the game we played in Lille. It is our reference game of the season away”, assures Gaëtan Paquiez.
The latter will undoubtedly start on the bench in Artois. As usual, uncertainty lies on the face of central defense. With three different duos aligned during the last three meetings, Pascal Plancque has not yet found the right formula with four players at his disposal. Guessoum and Ueda seem however the most reassuring in favor of Landre and Miguel but not sure that they are starting together. For the rest the coach should follow through.
Benrahou removed from the group
Despite the lack of offensive animation in recent weeks, he shouldn’t turn his offense upside down. “Three months ago everyone said we had to get Koné out. I continued to play him and he scored goals. You have to give the players confidence,” recalls Pascal Plancque who, on the other hand, made the choice not to retain Benrahou, although physically. Thus, it is Duljevic who is back in the Nîmes workforce and the Swede Eliasson who should start on the right wing of the attack. As against the Alsatians, Cubas is forfeited because of his thigh. “We hope so for Reims but he is more likely to be back against Metz”, confides his coach.
Dias, Briançon, Martinez, Burner, who follows a recovery protocol after contracting covid-19, Ben Amar and Depres are also forfeited. On the Sang et Or side, ten players are missing, including the top scorers Sotoca and Kakuta. The striker is the club’s 21st player this season affected by the virus. It remains to be seen if the Crocos will manage to pull out of the game against a weakened team and pocket a ninth victory this season.
Corentin Corger
The selected group: Reynet, Nazih – Alakouch, Paquiez, Ueda, Guessoum, Landre, Miguel, Meling – Deaux, Fomba, Ahlinvi, Sarr – Ripart, Ferhat, Aribi, Koné, Eliasson, Duljevic, Roux.
The probable eleven: Reynet – Alakouch, Ueda, Guessoum, Meling – Fomba, Deaux, Ripart (cap.) – Eliasson, Koné, Ferhat.
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