As Napoli prepare to face Nice in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, Football Italia takes a look at what to expect from the French side.

Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder will both be missing for the match, but Serie A sides have slipped-up at this stage before, and Lorenzo Insigne acknowledged that he and his teammates will have to be focused.

Here’s what you can expect from the visitors tonight.

As Napoli prepare to face Nice in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, Football Italia takes a look at what to expect from the French side.

Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder will both be missing for the match, but Serie A sides have slipped-up at this stage before, and Lorenzo Insigne acknowledged that he and his teammates will have to be focused.

Here’s what you can expect from the visitors tonight.

Words: Tom Scholes

Tonight Napoli host Ligue 1 side Nice in the Champions League play off first leg, a game that will have certainly caught the eye of most European football fans across the continent when the two were drawn together. Of course, we all know about Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli side and how good they are on the ball and attacking at pace, but what about their opponents? Will a strict Nice defence negate Napoli’s style or will it be a match up of systems?

Key men

First up when looking at the Riviera side you have to identify their star players. When going through the official squad list, three names jump out almost immediately. Jean Michael Seri, who has been on the shortlist of multiple clubs across Europe including Arsenal, Barcelona and Serie A’s very own Roma. New addition Wesley Sneijder is another name that grabs the eye and, of course, Mario Balotelli. However, as Nice officially released the squad list for this tie, both Sneijder and Balotelli weren’t available meaning they will be missing two key players, most significantly their main source of goals.

Seri, though is the man who will get Nice ticking. If the French club are going to create anything, Seri will likely be the instigator. He’s a wanted man for a very good reason, but given the injuries to Nice, he will have to be the main man in every department.

Style of play

One area that Nice will use to exploit Napoli will be on the wings, whether that be from their orthodox wingers or from their more advanced wing-backs. Of course last season they had both Ricardo Pereira and Dalbert Henrique, with the pair vital to how Lucien Favre set his side up but both have since departed, leaving Nice without two great players.

The full-back issue at the club is still yet to be full resolved; meaning most of the attack down the flanks will come from Allan Saint-Maximin and probably Pierre Lees Melou. They will be the be the ones who will try to get in behind the Napoli back line and play forward passes into Alassane Plea, who is more mobile up top than Mario Balotelli.

Favre has admitted that he may put an extra man in midfield for tonight's match, in an attempt to disrupt the Partenopei's fluent passing.

Form

Taking a look back at Nice’s last fixture against Troyes, they didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory. Two Ligue 1 games so far and two losses means the problems are still in full view, but that doesn’t exactly mean they’ve played terribly. Against Ajax they did enough to get through over the two legs but against such a clinical and ruthless Napoli side, you do worry for them.

Their main outlet will be Jean Michael Seri, but he will likely be the man to probe rather than score, leaving that to the extremely talented Alassane Plea. However, with a lack of options on the wide areas hindering Lucian Favre’s side, you do wonder where the creativity will come from. In their usual 4-2-3-1 formation they will have two wingers ready to fly forward, but if they do not help the two full-backs – one of which being 18-year-old central defender Malang Sarr – Nice are going to have a tough time. That being said, Nice have made it a pleasant habit of upsetting the odds so if they manage to get a result at home against Marek Hamsik and co. they could be in with a real fighting chance in a weeks time.

Nice will attack with pace, but without their main strengths they could be in trouble. They will essentially have to fight fire with fire this Wednesday night, but if anyone can pull an upset under tough conditions, it’s Lucien Favre’s Riviera side.

Bygaby

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