We give you 10 key facts to know ahead of Saturday’s game against Strasbourg that heralds the run-in to the season’s end.

CLAUSS BACK HOME

Jonathan Clauss was born in Strasbourg and attended the club’s youth academy, playing there until he was 19 years old before eventually heading across the border to Germany. Having starred in Arminia Bielefeld’s promotion to the Bundesliga, he came to the fore at Lens before joining Marseille and Nice, and now has 14 senior caps for France.

DANTE’s LAST GOAL…

In 325 matchs with the Red-and-Blacks, Dante has scored eight times. The last time was in Strasbourg on 28 April 2024. Evann Guessand and Morgan Sanson were the other scorers in a 3-1 win.

… AND WAHI’s FIRST

Our number 11’s first goal came against Strasbourg at the Allianz Riviera on 3 January this year (1-1). It came just eight minutes and 34 seconds into his Ligue 1 return following his loan move from Eintracht Frankurt.

 

The first match of 2026 also marked Claude Puel’s return to the Nice bench and Everton’s first-team debut.

ZOUMANA DIALLO, A SUMMER CONNECTION

There are a number of players with connections to both clubs, the most recent of which is Zoumana Diallo. A Strasbourg youth academy product, the 21-year-old forward made his senior debut for the Alsatian club in the Coupe de France against Angers on 5 February, 2025. He arrived at Le Gym at the start of the season and made his first start in the Coupe de France against Saint-Etienne, scoring his first goal after just 11 minutes of the 2-1 win.

Two weeks later, he made his Ligue 1 debut…against Strasbourg.

STÉPHANE CASSARD (also) knows both clubs

There is also a connection among the staff: Stéphane Cassard. An experienced goalkeeper with more than 500 professional appearances, Stephane played 213 of those games for Strasbourg between 2004 and 2010. After retiring, he became goalkeeper coach at OM, Valenciennes and Strasbourg before arriving in Nice in June 2024.

MORGAN SANSON, A SIX-MONTH KICKSTART

Before being first loaned to Nice in 2023 and then being transferred to Le Gym in 2024, Morgan Sanson gave his career a kickstart in Strasbourg during six months on loan from Aston Villa. He played 18 games scoring once to help the Blue-and-Whites stave off relegation in the 2022-23 season.

GOOD MEMORIES FOR MELVIN BARD

Strasbourg are the only team that Melvin Bard has scored twice against in Ligue 1 when he struck once in each game against them last season. The summer 2021 arrival now has seven goals and six assists in 181 matches for Les Aiglons.

THE (NEW) MEINAU TWICE IN A MONTH

After having played twice at the Beaujoire in January (and  twice at the Moustoir in November and March), Les Aiglons will play twice in Strasbourg in April: after this Saturday’s league game they go there again for the Coupe de France semi-final on 22 April. Dante & Co. will notice the venue has changed since their last visit on 12 April 2025. A building site for that 2-2 draw, the South Stand has now been completed, increasing capacity from 26,000 to 31,800.

A BIG CROWD EXPECTED

A large visiting group of fans is expected, especially as it marks the 40th anniversary of the Populaire Sud. You can reserve your ticket before Thursday, 5pm CEST. (all the info here).

STRASBOURG BATTLING ON THREE FRONTS

In the hunt for a European place in the league (8th on 40 points, six off 6th place), Les Alsaciens are still in the Coupe de France with a semi-final against Le Gym to come.  After beating Rijeka in the Round of 16 (2-1, 1-1), Gary O’Neil’s side will also now face Mainz in the Conference League quarter-finals (1st leg 9 April, 2nd leg 16 April). O’Neil took over after Liam Rosenior took charge of his last Strasbourg game in the first league encounter with Le Gym this season in early January.

They will play without Ligue 1’s leading scorer, Joaquin Panichelli (16 league goals, 20 in all competitions), who is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury while on international duty last month.

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