48 hours before the arrival of Guingamp, Lucien Favre has given the run-down on his squad during his press conference.

Diminished for the last couple of weeks, the Nice squad will be bolstered out by several returnees this weekend. To begin with, Jean-Michaël Seri, prematurely eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations with the Côte d’Ivoire, Seri is already back and working hard at Charles-Ehrmann. A return that is welcomed somewhat cautiously by the Red and Black’s coach: “He came back very quickly from Gabon. He wants to play, that’s for sure. We will discuss it because it is a long journey with several stopovers, a difference of temperature, etc.” 

Albeit unsure, the return of the best passer in Ligue 1 would be some fantastic news for the Nice coach: “When in a match situation, he knows how to make the right choices.” An opinion shared by Alassane Plea, who followed his coach into the press room to face the journalists: “Technically, he is at the top. The quality of his passing allows him to put attackers into the best positions. We would be delighted to see him return.”

Even if Sunday won’t see the return of Mickaël Le Bihan: “After 15 months out, it is still too soon. He needs to play more with the reserves”, Lucien Favre was also unable to confirm the return of Valentin Eysseric for the clash against Guingamp : “We will see, because he only started training with the team again this week.” 

However, the coach showed more certainty about Paul Baysse : “Luckily, he has no damage following the mini-accident with Dante against Metz.” Amongst the 18, the Nice captain will also join Yoan Cardinale who returns to the squad following injury: “He is back with the squad. But it is too soon to tell you who will be starting in goal” explained Lucien Favre, who also mentioned Maxime Le Marchand amongst the probable returnees, before celebrating the good news: “Of course, we are still missing several players like Belhanda and Ricardo. But to go forward, we need to be positive and think about the players who are coming back.”