Nicolas Seube “wants to react”, but with six players absent

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The infirmary is full at the Stade Malherbe Caen. Before facing En Avant Guingamp on Sunday December 22, 2024 in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France, coach Nicolas Seube is racking his brains to be able to field the best possible team given the numerous absences.

A defensive line to (re)compose

During this last match of the year 2024, Quentin Lecoeuche et Godson Kyeremeh will also be missed.

They join those who have been absent for a long time. Valentin Henry and Kalifa Coulibaly returned to training this week, but they will be too tight.

Against Guingamp, Nicolas Seube will have to tinker. Deprived of Valentin HenryQuentin Lecoeuche and Lamine Sy, there is only one professional full-back left in the group. Diabé Bolumbu has done what he can to respond to the order on the right side of the defense, but we must now find another solution since the 20-year-old defender should find its preferential side in Guingamp. “We have only one training fullback in the person of Diabé Bolumbu,” analyzes Nicolas Seube. You have to think about it, I have a few ideas. But inevitably, on one of the two positions, you will have to adapt. »

After Bolumbu left Dukerque, it was Léo Miliner who took the position. The Caen coach liked his player's performance, but knows that he cannot ask him to start in this position. SM Caen will therefore go to Guingamp in a new configuration this season.

I'm not sure I have the players capable of playing as pistons. It’s a lot of offensive and defensive work.

Also, in midfield, Yann M’Vila is still unavailable.

A reputation to restore

After the defeat in Dunkirk at the start of the week (3-1), Nicolas Seube is obviously hoping for a reaction. Even if he repeats it, Dunkirk is a cutting-edge team of this championship. “I'm not looking for extenuating circumstances, but Dunkirk is a very good team,” he recalls. But we must give another image. Like what we did in Metz for example. »

In Moselle, SM Caen responded and put his opponent in difficultyrelegated from Ligue 1 a few months earlier. If the Caennais had not been able to bring back the slightest point from this trip, they had at least had the merit to offer good opposition to Messins. This is the minimum expected by Nicolas Seube.

In view of what we produced in Dunkirk, we must react and give a good image. It's a match that doesn't give points, of course, but it's a prestigious competition. We must have a guideline on behavior, to be a team that wants to succeed.

After Sunday's meeting, the SM Caen players will enjoy a week's vacation before returning to training on December 30. The first match of 2025 will be the Clermont reception Friday, January 3.

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