Nice will make the trip to Stade Armand-Cesari in Furiani to take on National 3 side Corte in the round of 64 of the Coupe de France on Saturday afternoon.
Almost exactly a month ago, the hosts snatched two late goals to beat Diables Noirs in the previous round, earning them a shot at the Ligue 1 outfit in this one.
Match preview
Corte are making their fourth appearance in the Coupe de France and second in succession after bowing in the first round of the competition last season.
The fifth-tier outfit have faced top-flight opposition in the Coupe previously, though, in the form of Rennes who beat them in a five-goal thriller 3-2 back in the 2005-06 edition.
However, the hosts enter this match currently experiencing a wretched run of form, with their last match ending in a 1-0 home loss to Rousset-Ste Victoire, which was their third consecutive defeat in a row.
David Faderne's side are also rooted to the bottom of their domestic league table, having only managed seven points from their 11 games this season, including only one victory and four draws.
Additionally, Corte have now gone over 450 minutes without a single goal in their National 3 campaign, last finding the back of the net in their sole victory against Olympique Marseille II at the start of November.
Meanwhile, Nice made it all the way to the quarter-final of the Coupe last term and ended as runners-up to Nantes two seasons before that.
However, in between those campaigns, they did suffer a shock exit in their first match in 2022-23 to Le Puy Foot 43 Auvergne, who ply their trade in the fourth tier of the French football pyramid.
Les Aiglons have not been in the greatest form leading up to the end of the year, with their last match ending in a 2-2 draw away to Montpellier, where they squandered a one-goal advantage twice in the game.
That result followed their fourth defeat in six Europa League matches, 2-1 to Union Saint-Gilloise, which sees them heading into the final two rounds of the competition with just two points and on the verge of elimination.
Given their recent record, Franck Haise will see this as a good opportunity to sign off 2024 on a positive note before preparation for the second half of the campaign gets underway.
- W
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- D
- L
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Team News
Corte have only scored 10 goals this season across all competitions, which have been shared among four players in Samba Tamboura, Christopher Boussemart, Jean-Francois Santelli and Stanley Segarel.
The former two were on target in the victory over Dables Noirs last time out and are expected to lead the attack in this round, while Dorian Fanni, who arrived from FC Martigues B at the start of the season, will likely try to provide the creativity in the middle of the park.
Nice, meanwhile, have been hit hard by injuries this season and currently have as many as 10 first-team players out of action, including long-term absentees Victor Orakpo, Morgan Sanson and Antoine Mendy.
Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Melvin Bard and Jeremie Boga have each missed the last four matches and are unlikely to travel this week, while Jonathan Clauss will have to sit out the match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Corte possible starting lineup:
Luciani; Machado, Baghioni, Rimane, Bassou; Fanni, Perotto, Orsoni; Boussemart, Segarel, Tamboura
Nice possible starting lineup:
Dupe; Doumbouya, Salhi, Bombito, Nandjou; Ilie, Everton, Louchet, Rosario; Bouanani; Laborde
We say: Corte 0-2 Nice
Nice have been pummeled by injuries this season and have had to rely on several youngsters to keep them going which has contributed heavily to their recent dip in form.
However, they are going up against a side that has not managed to find the back of the net in four consecutive matches, and we feel the Ligue 1 outfit will be able to get through, even if it is not by a huge margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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