Nice Coach Lucien Favre admits he could add an extra midfielder for tomorrow’s Champions League showdown with Napoli. “They have few weaknesses.”
The first leg kicks off at the Stadio San Paolo on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Ligue 1 surprise outfit already knocked Europa League finalists Ajax out in the preliminary round and now take on Napoli.
“We knew that it would be two tough ties on the road to the Champions League and that we’d meet two very strong sides,” said Favre in his Press conference.
Nice Coach Lucien Favre admits he could add an extra midfielder for tomorrow’s Champions League showdown with Napoli. “They have few weaknesses.”
The first leg kicks off at the Stadio San Paolo on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Ligue 1 surprise outfit already knocked Europa League finalists Ajax out in the preliminary round and now take on Napoli.
“We knew that it would be two tough ties on the road to the Champions League and that we’d meet two very strong sides,” said Favre in his Press conference.
“We got past Ajax, now we have Napoli and we’ve watched many of their games. They always manage to play one-touch football and defend in a very compact manner.
“However, I have prepared the side by concentrating on our own strengths too. It’s going to be a very difficult test and Napoli are quick, especially dangerous when taking men on.
“I am not prepared to give a percentage on our chances of qualification for the Champions League. Napoli have few weaknesses, even if every team has at least one.
“I wouldn’t name a single player who is most dangerous, because they’ve got Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon, Marek Hamsik, Piotr Zielinski, Jorginho, Faouzi Ghoulam, etc.”
Mario Balotelli and new signing Wesley Sneijder are out injured and didn’t even make the trip to the Stadio San Paolo.
“We could play with the same system as usual, though at most I could introduce another player for the middle of the park. Balotelli and Sneijder trained this morning on an individual schedule so they can be ready as soon as possible. We don’t want to rush it, as Balotelli risks a relapse. Sneijder hasn’t played for two months and he will take time.
“It’s true there is a huge financial difference between playing in the Champions League and Europa League, but the most important thing is to participate in a European competition. We believe that we can achieve something important.”
Nice have had a terrible start to the Ligue 1 season, losing both their opening games against Saint-Etienne and Troyes.
“We mustn’t forget that before those two defeats we had to face Ajax and nobody expected us to get through that preliminary round. We finished third in Ligue 1 and expected a tough start to this season.”