Paul Rouget, Media365: published on Friday November 8, 2024 at 10:08 p.m.
After seven games without a victory, FC Nantes, on the edge of the red zone, will try to react on Saturday in Lens, and must above all think about maintaining according to their coach Antoine Kombouaré.
Summer seems a long way away for FC Nantes. Winners twice during the first three days, the Canaries have not managed to win a single match since August. They slipped to 14th in the standings, with the same number of points as the play-off, Saint-Etienne, and only one step ahead of the penultimate, Le Havre, after recording a second consecutive defeat, the fourth of the season, last Sunday against OM (1-2).
On the eve of an already important trip to Lens, as part of the 11th day of Ligue 1, Antoine Kombouaré, still deprived of Johann Lepenant, also warned his men, asking them not to “lie to themselves ” on the objectives of the season. “We have to get it in our heads that today, we have to change the software, that's what I told the players this week. Given the results and our position, today, we are playing to maintain “Until now, I hadn't talked about that, but that's what I told them, we shouldn't lie to ourselves,” said the Nantes coach.
The Lensois are wary
A bad series that the Canaries will therefore try to stop at Bollaert, where the Sang et Or coach expects to see a vengeful opponent, who has sometimes been able to cause problems for the Phocaeans. “Nantes has a lot of individuality that can turn a match around, especially in rapid transition. We are preparing to face the best version of FC Nantes,” assured Will Still, whose team must also get back on track, since the Artésiens are dropped to 7th place after two defeats in a row, in the derby against Lille and in Paris
His midfielder Adrien Thomasson, who spent three seasons in Nantes, also remains wary: “We know that they can be solid in defense, and they hurt Marseille with their counterattacks. We will have to be rigorous and avoid the errors which would give them opportunities.” Opportunities that Kombouaré hopes to finally see converted…
