The fourth knockout round of the 2023-24 Coupe de France sees Bordeaux and Nice go head-to-head at Matmut Atlantique on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams needed penalties to see off their respective last-64 opponents and another close encounter could be on the cards this weekend.
Match preview
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OGC Nice were taken all the way to penalties by lower league side AJ Auxerre when the teams went head-to-head at the Allianz Riviera on January 6.
Francesco Farioli's men were in the ascendancy for large spells of the contest but failed to find the all-important winner, which saw the tie eventually head to the luxury of spot kicks, where Gaetan Laborde dispatched the decisive penalty.
Les Aiglons were beaten 2-0 by Stade Rennes in their last domestic outing on Saturday and currently sit second in the Ligue 1 table, eight points adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
Off the back of three consecutive defeats on the road by a combined score of 6-1, Saturday's visitors will be keen to arrest their recent slump in form away from home.
Bordeaux held their nerve from 12 yards to just about edge out Sannois in the sides' meeting at Stade Michel Hidalgo two Saturdays ago.
Albert Riera's men fell behind to Sekou Baradji's opener but managed to restore parity through Danylo Ignatenko, after which Alexi Pitu kept a cool head to convert the winning spot kick when the game went to a shootout.
That was a fourth straight unbeaten game for Les Girondins who however suffered a 3-1 loss against Auxerre in their subsequent league outing to drop to 15th in the Ligue 2 table.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with just one defeat in the most recent 12 editions of this fixture across all competitions.
Having won just one of their last seven matches on home turf, Saturday's hosts will need to get going in front of their fans if they are to progress into the next round of the Coupe de France.
Team News
Terem Moffi, Youcef Atal, Jeremie Boga and Hicham Boudaoui are all on international duty and will not feature in this weekend's contest.
Midfielder Khephren Thuram misses out for the visitors through an ankle injury, while Sofiane Diop continues to battle with a foot problem.
Having found the back of the net in two of his last three outings for Bordeaux, 21-year-old Zan Vipotnik is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Malcolm Bokele is unavailable for the home side as he is currently away with the Cameroon national team at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Johnsson; Nsimba, Barbet, Marcelin, Michelin; Wissback, Ignatenko, Diaz; Elis, Vipotnik, Livolant
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Mendy, Amraoui, Ndayishimiye; Lotomba, Belahyane, Rosario, Louchet; Claude-Maurice, Laborde, Guessand
We say: Bordeaux 1-2 Nice
With the plethora of attacking talent on display here, we fully expect both teams to get themselves on the scoresheet. We are also tipping Nice to emerge triumphant, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
