Focus on OGC Nice
Nice and Monaco will meet tomorrow for the 99th time in the top flight, 67 years to the day after the first derby. Led by Patrick Vieira since June 2018, Les Aiglons are on a series of five matches without defeat and score three goals last week in Angers in a match marked by a serious injury suffered by their captain Dante.
At home, Le Gym score (almost) all the time
Having called the Allianz Riviera home since 2013, Nice feel pretty good playing there. Lately, Le Gym have scored in 21 of their last 22 matches there. The only exception to the rule was on September 20, against Paris, in a 3-0 defeat. This is also the last loss for Nice, who have lost only twice in the league since the start of the season, the other match being a defeat in Montpellier (3-1). The level of these performances is something to which Walter Benitez, the Nice goalkeeper, is not trivial. The Argentine has made 34 saves this season (out of 42 shots on target), more than any other top goalkeeper. In the attacking third, Amine Gouiri and Kasper Dolberg have carried Les Aiglons by scoring three goals each, a total of six of the team’s total of 14.
End of the season for Dante
With 17 points after nine rounds in the league, Les Aiglons have their second best point total at this stage of the competition in the 21st century (they had done better in 2016/2017, with 23). That season, Dante was playing his first minutes in red and black. The Brazilian defender, who celebrated his 37th birthday a few days ago, will not feature this Sunday since he suffered a cruciate rupture during a duel with an Angers defender during the team’s 3-0 victory last week. It’s a real blow for Nice who have lost their captain for the rest of the season and who already had to play without him Thursday, in the Europa League. Patrick Vieira’s players are currently last in their group.
Press conference extracts
Read Niko Kovac’s pre-match press conference
Read Gelson Martins’ pre-match press conference
OGC Nice – AS Monaco by the numbers
- 98: Matches in Ligue 1, with a record of 41 wins for AS Monaco, 27 draws and 30 losses (133 goals scored, 117 conceded).
- 49: Number of matches played in Nice, with a record of 18 Monaco wins, 11 draws and 20 losses (56 goals scored, 67 conceded).
- 3-0: The first derby played in the Allianz Riviera is also the Red and Whites’ biggest away victory in the history of OGC Nice-AS Monaco.
- 9: Wissam Ben Yedder has scored 9 goals in 11 matches against Nice in Ligue 1, at least 3 more goals than against any other top flight team. He’s scored 24 goals in 35 matches in Ligue 1 with AS Monaco, the best total after this number of matches for an ASM player since Delio Onnis in August 1974.
