Montpellier HSC and Nice will face off in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France at Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Wednesday evening.
The hosts have won this tournament twice in the past but last lifted the trophy in 1990, while the visitors last won the tournament in 1997, which was the third triumph in their history.
Match preview
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Montpellier reached the last 16 of this competition with little issue, overcoming Amiens SC 2-1 in their opening match before knocking in four goals without response against Feignies Aulnoye in the round of 32 a couple of weeks ago.
Since that victory over Feignies Aulnoye, though, La Paillade failed to win either of their next two matches, playing out a stalemate at home against Lille and losing 2-1 to Rennes on the road last weekend.
Those results took Michel Der Zakarian's side to 19 points after 20 matches, leaving them in 13th place in the Ligue 1 standings, three points above Lorient, who are the first side below the dotted line.
At home, Montpellier have been difficult to beat this season, but they have struggled to convert good performances into victories, drawing each of their last four games at Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 and losing only twice in 10 home games this term.
When these sides met in league competition back in November, La Paillade held Nice to a goalless draw, extending their winless run against them to four matches (W0 D2 L2) dating back to March 2022.
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Meanwhile, after exiting this competition in the round of 64 last season, Nice almost suffered the same fate this term and needed penalties to see them through their opening round tie against Auxerre, which finished 0-0 in regulation time.
Their second match in the tournament was another close encounter against Bordeaux, although they managed to get through with a 3-2 scoreline, thanks to a brace from Morgan Sanson after Evann Guessand opened the scoring in the first half.
While their cup record has not been totally convincing, Les Aiglons have been enjoying an excellent league season, currently in second place in the standings with 39 points after 20 matches.
Nice's major strength this season has been in defence, where they have only conceded 11 league goals to date, which is the best record of any side in the top flight, six fewer than league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Francesco Farioli's side have experienced a notable downturn in their away performances of late, failing to win any of their last five league games, including two draws on either side of a three-match losing streak.
Team News
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Akor Adams came off the bench to net a brace in Montpellier's round-of-32 clash against Feignies Aulnoye, but he is unlikely to play any part in this match due to a back injury.
Arnaud Nordin is the only other injury absentee for the hosts in this match, while Musa Al-Taamari and Dimitry Bertaud are still away from the team on international duty with Jordan and Congo DR, respectively.
For the visitors, Sofiane Diop has been ruled out of action until next month with a foot injury, while Alexis Beka Beka has not played featured since September due to personal reasons.
Defender Youcef Atal was suspended for eight months last October and will likely play no part in the remainder of the current campaign, while Terem Moffi and Jeremie Boga are competing in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and Ivory Coast respectively on the same day.
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Hefti, Omeragic, Jullien, Sagnan; Mincarelli, Nordin, Chotard, Savanier, Adams; Khazri
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Lotomba, Todibo, Dante, Bard; Boudaoui, Ndayishimiye, Thuram-Ulien; Laborde, Guessand, Sanson
We say: Montpellier HSC 1-1 Nice
Despite the gap in the league standings between these sides, Montpellier have fared well on their home patch this season and head into this match unbeaten in their last four on home soil. In contrast, Nice have struggled to find wins on the road of late and failed to score in three of their last four away league matches.
We are expecting a tight and tactical match here and feel that we may need penalties to find the winner in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
