The Lille midfielder does not want his teammates to get carried away by the last season’s league standings of OGC Nice ahead of the clash at Stade du Ray on Saturday
The former OGC Nice player, Balmont, is wary of a potential backlash from Nice as he prepares for Saturday’s fixture. The start of the campaign for Nice has seen the club losing to Ajaccio by a goal margin followed by a stalemate with Valenciennes.
On the contrary, Lille had an appreciable start to the campaign, following an opening day victory at St Etienne and a draw against Nancy at home. The 32-year-old’s former club has not been able to beat Les Dogues since 2007 but, Balmont fears the anticipation
of his former side to muster their first win against Lille in over five years.
In addition to that, Balmont is also wary of the fact that his former club is very strong at home and it is always difficult to get results at Stade de Ray. The midfielder said on Lille’s official website, “There (Nice), it is never easy”.
He further added, “We have been used to that, but in the last two years we have started to get results on the Cote d’Azur, both in the league and in the Coupe de France”.
The talented midfielder wants his club’s past experience and success to pay off at the weekend as he said, “So we hope we have further happy experiences on that trip this year, bearing in mind that a very strong opponent awaits us”. Balmont also cherished
his time at his former club, saying, “I still have many friends. Whenever I go back it is a great pleasure”.
Lille however, will face stiff resistance from Nice at this time of the year as the last season’s fourth placed outfit is set to face a daunting task at the weekend.
The reason, being the persistent injury fears looming in the squad with Salomon Kalou on the sidelines due to a thigh injury. Marko Basa and Mathieu Debuchy are other high profile players set to be on the sidelines due to injuries.
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