Arsenal loanee Nicolas Pépé has recovered from a minor knock but is unlikely to start for OGC Nice as they face FC Basel in the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League tie at the Allianz Riviera on Thursday evening.
Nice and Basel are level pegging after the first leg (2-2), and with the away goals rule no longer in operation in European competition, Nice will need to win to progress. They are France’s last man standing in European competition this season, and progression is desperately needed in order to remain above the Dutch and Portuguese domestic divisions in the UEFA co-efficient.
Didier Digard is still without a raft of players, including Jordan Lotomba, Youcef Atal, Sofiane Diop and Mattia Viti. However, Les Aiglons welcome back Pépé after he recovered from a minor injury. He is not expected to start, however, with Digard likely to deploy a 3-5-2 with Gaëtan Laborde and Terem Moffi up front.
Nice likely lineup v Basel
Kasper Schmeichel – Dante, Jean-Clair Todibo, Youssouf Ndayishimiye – Melvin Bard, Khéphren Thuram, Hicham Boudaoui, Aaron Ramsey, Antoine Mendy – Gaëtan Laborde, Terem Moffi.
