Two sides struggling at the start of the league phase of the Europa League meet on the South Coast of France on Thursday, when Nice host FC Twente.
Neither side are yet to taste victory after three matches and will find themselves playing catch up if that extends beyond the halfway point.
Match preview
Few teams have made as underwhelming a start to the league phase of the Europa League than Nice, who have played some excellent football domestically under Franck Haise, but cannot translate that into this competition.
After a positive result on matchday one against Real Sociedad, where Nice drew 1-1 and could have won if Alex Remiro did not deny Evann Guessand from the penalty spot, things have quickly gone downhill.
A trip to the Italian capital ended woefully, as Nice were thumped 4-1 by in-form Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, before they fell to a concerning 1-0 defeat in Hungary to Ferencvaros.
That has extended a worrying run of form that has seen Nice lose 10 of their last 12 Europa League matches, so Haise will hope an upturn of form domestically can be the catalyst to improving results on the continent.
OGC are unbeaten in six Ligue 1 games, and have won back-to-back matches since the debacle in Budapest.
Haise saw his young side end Monaco's unbeaten start to the season, before they went away to Champions League dark horses Brest and won 1-0 over the weekend, with Guessand netting in both victories, moving them up to fifth.
While Nice's UEL record is hardly inspiring, Twente's is even more disheartening heading into this one, as the Dutch side are winless in 10 in this competition.
The draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United and former Twente manager Erik ten Hag on matchday one felt like a win, but they have been unable to back that up since.
There has been some misfortune involved, though, as a 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce was not a bad result by any means, before an early red card to goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall against Lazio saw them fall to a 2-0 defeat.
That leaves Twente as the only team currently on two points, down in 28th, so manager Joseph Oosting will know that even though their fixtures get kinder on paper further down the line, they need points on the board sooner rather than later.
This fixture is set to be another difficult one for the Enschede club though, as they have lost on four of their last five visits to France, but the exception was their most recent trip here against Marseille, where they won 1-0 in 2009.
The away side bring good form domestically into this one too, as they have also won consecutive games since losing on matchday three - winning 5-0 over Heracles, and nicking a 1-0 victory away at Willem II - ending a four-game winless run in the process.
Team News
Pablo Rosario's late red card in the defeat to Ferencvaros two weeks ago means Nice will be without their Dutch midfielder for this encounter, with Tanguy Ndombele likely to come into the side after a recent return from injury.
Midfield remains an area of concern, though, as Hichem Boudaoui and Morgan Sanson are sidelined with hamstring and ankle injuries respectively, while Terem Moffi remains a long-term absentee up front.
Twente goalkeeper Unnerstall is suspended after he was sent off early on against Lazio, so 37-year-old Przemyslaw Tyton is set to deputise after coming off the bench to fill the void against the Italians.
Younes Taha is out until 2025 with a broken leg, but the visitors were able to welcome Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Mitchell van Bergen back from injury over the weekend, and both are likely to start in attack alongside Sam Lammers, who has scored in back-to-back games.
Michal Sadilek was named in a matchday squad for the first time this season in the win over Willem II, as the Czech midfielder has been missing since picking up a cruel injury on the eve of Euro 2024, and this game could be the perfect opportunity to build his match fitness.
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Mendy, Bombito, Abdelmonem; Clauss, Ndombele, Ndayishimiye, Abdi; Guessand, Laborde, Boga
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Tyton; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah-Eddine; Regeer, Vlap, Steijn; Lammers, Van Wolfswinkel, Van Bergen
We say: Nice 2-1 FC Twente
Both sides are looking to end woeful runs in the Europa League, as Nice have lost 10 in 12 and Twente are winless in 10, but both come into the game on the back of two straight league wins.
Nice's young attacking talent is exciting on the eye, and with a quality manager in the dugout and home advantage, they will be fancied to take their first three points of the league phase here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
