After having done it in Angers, and in what way, OGC Nice has only one thing in mind: to regain second place in Ligue 1 that Lens has stolen from it, on Friday evening, while having fun with Troyes . It is a challenge that should have made the Allianz Rivera a pressure cooker, full to the brim, with the added bonus of the return of the Popular Sud Ultras, sidelined since August 22 and the stormy derby against the Olympique de Marseilles. However, this will not be the case, since 20,000 supporters are expected, which becomes distressing.
Too bad for those absent, this season, the Gym has the ability to start strong and finish hard, which makes their matches attractive, even stunning when they end like the last two, against Lyon and Angers. Each time, Andy Delort has been one of the major players in these reversals which say a lot about the character of this team which never abdicates, guided by a coach who is never satisfied.
Before leaving the Raymond-Kopa stadium in Angers, Christophe Galtier praised the courage of his players, to whom he also said that the great performance of the week would be to beat Montpellier, before the truce. “You just have to maintain the level of requirement, the level of motivation, not to be slack, slipped the Nice coach. We must also support the players not in euphoria but in great determination to keep this place game after game. “
Second after thirteen days, despite a point less and a victory against OM turned into a draw, it would be a real achievement and the sign of the long-awaited renewal since the arrival of the Ratcliffe family in the capital of the club. Nice has never started a Ligue 1 season so well since 2002, the year of its recovery, except under the orders of Lucien Favre, in 2016. A blessed time.
With Claude-Maurice?
Calvin Stengs and Kasper Dolberg are back. Hicham Boudaoui is forfeited due to back pain. Justin Kluivert, Evann Guessand and Bambu are still in the infirmary. AMontpellier, Teji Savanier, the captain and playing master, is suspended.
To the good little ball players already present, the leaders added a big dose of fighting spirit, embodied by boys like Rosario, Lemina and, of course, Delort, who finds Montpellier in the form of his life. “There will be no emotion in Andy”, assured Galtier, who can not do without it since his arrival at the end of August for six million euros.
This will force Kasper Dolberg, back in the squad, to do a lot more to catch up on the Gouiri-Delort duo, who have weighed thirteen goals and six assists since the start of the season.
Against Lyon, the three had started together for a more than average result. This does not mean that Galtier will not do it again, but the excellent entry of Claude-Maurice in Angers could encourage him to launch him for the first time this season in the eleven.
Numbers
5. Nice scored 5 goals in the 1st quarter of an hour in Ligue1 this season, the highest total and 7 in the last quarter of an hour, the highest total in the company of Paris.
14. Montpellier is the team that Nice coach Christophe Galtier has beaten most often in Ligue1: 14 times in 21 matches (11 times with Saint-Etienne and 3 times with Lille). The team he led has never lost in 12 receptions of the Hérault in the elite (8 wins, 4 draws).
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