Qualified for the quarter-finals of the C4, OGC Nice will discover the identity of their next opponent on Friday after the draw.
Next up. By twice dominating Moldova’s Sheriff Tiraspol (1-0, 3-1), OGC Nice secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League conference. The last French club in the European Cup this season will know their future opponent on Friday March 17 during the draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon (Switzerland). Franceinfo: sport takes stock of the different possible oppositions.
The most affordable: Lech Poznan
In the middle of winter, a trip to Poland is no picnic. But that’s another story in April. On the Aiglons side, the prospect of a double confrontation against Lech Poznan for a place in the last four of the Europa League conference would undoubtedly be appreciated. Among the remaining teams, the current third in the Polish championship – 18 points behind the leader – is the most affordable opponent.
Eliminated in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, Poznan joined the C4 pools in the fall. Second behind Villarreal, the Poles then struggled to defeat the Norwegians of Bodo / Glimt in the play-offs (0-0, 1-0), before disposing of Djurgardens in the eighth (2-0, 3-0). If the score may seem heavy, it is to be put into perspective: the Swedes have just resumed and have conceded three goals in numerical inferiority. Lech Poznan had never gone so far in the European Cup and the challenge does not seem insurmountable for Nice.
Biggest piece: West Ham
10 wins in 10 matches. Despite a worrying situation in the Premier League (17th with two points ahead of the red lantern), West Ham is blazing in the Europa League conference this season. The club even has a solid record of 25 goals scored and six conceded. Something to thrill the competition before the draw. In competition, the last coming of the Hammers on French soil remains a bad memory because they had sunk Lyon at home last year (3-0), at the same stage of the competition, but in C3.
A meeting which had allowed the Londoners to join the semi-finals of the Europa League. A beautiful European course on which they have capitalized ever since. Nice would not, however, dive into the unknown against them since David Moyes has many known heads from the French championship in his squad. In addition to the 2018 world champion Alphonse Aréola, the French defender Kurt Zouma, the German Thilo Kehrer, the former Rennais Nayef Aguerd or the ex-Lyonnais Lucas Paqueta, Emerson and Maxwel Cornet are at the club.
The double-edged match: AZ Alkmaar
With Nice as the only representative in the quarter-finals of the European Cup, France sees its fifth place in the UEFA coefficient threatened by the Netherlands. In the event of a Dutch epic (from Alkmaar or Feyenoord in C3), Ligue 1 could lose a qualifying place in the Champions League when four seats will be awarded to the 5th best European country from the 2024-2025 edition (the directly qualified podium, the fourth in the qualifying round with the new formula).
Reason why a double opposition against Alkmaar would be double-edged, perilous even given the state of form of the Dutch. In the fight for the Eredivisie title, AZ created a surprise by eliminating Lazio Rome in the previous round (2-1, 2-1). A Nice elimination against the Kaaskoppen, or “cheese heads” in VF, could be expensive, even more if it is combined with a qualification from Feyenoord Rotterdam in C3.
The other possible draws: Fiorentina (Italy), Basel (Switzerland), La Gantoise and Anderlecht (Belgium).