UCL Preview: OGC Nice-SL Benfica
After a busy offseason, the first competitive match for a Ligue 1 McDonald's team is here -- OGC Nice will take on Benfica in Champions League qualifying -- read on for our preview of the first leg.
Shorthanded Aiglons
Following from a rather undistinguished foray in the Europa League last year, Nice are eager to stake their claim as a team on the rise under Franck Haise by reaching the Champions League proper. Despite several strong finishes in recent seasons, that level of success has eluded Les Aiglons, with an elimination by Napoli in the playoff round six years ago as close as they've come.
To reach that stage this year, they'll have to face Benfica without several key players -- and that's without considering the departures of the likes of Marcin Bulka and Gaetan Laborde. Haise will have to fashion a defence without any of Moise Bombito, Ali Abdi, Mohamed Abdelmonem and Youssef Ndayishimye, but he will be able to call on the veteran Dante, who spoke before the match about the competition's importance to he and his teammates, saying, "We're dreaming of playing in the Champions League, we can't wait to hear that anthem. That's the motivation. We can be a part of the club's history and make everyone happy. That's how I'm approaching things."
MD-2 in the stadium with you 🇪🇺 #OGCNSLB pic.twitter.com/WJvYOKYSSU
— OGC Nice 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@ogcnice_eng) August 4, 2025
Ambitious Benfica
As for Benfica, Bruno Lage and his side have played a somewhat truncated offseason, owing to their participation in the Club World Cup. Os Aguilas have played just a solitary friendly, against Fenerbahce, in addition to the Portuguese Super Cup, but their compressed preseason shouldn't prove an obstacle, as Lage remarked:
"I am very optimistic about how the team is working. And, as I have said several times, this group deserves and wants to play in the Champions League and wants to make that happen, both for the club and for our fans, to be present in the Champions League. So it is with that optimism and desire that we go into this game."
As for Benfica, the Portuguese side will be without defender Tomás Araujo and attacker Kerem Akturkoglu. but could start as many as four summer signings in the match, including former Marseille fullback Amar Dedic, who has joined the Lisbon side from RB Salzburg. After beating Monaco in the knockout playoffs in this competition last season, the Portuguese will be a dangerous opponent.
Predicted lineups:
OGC Nice (3-4-3): Diouf; Mendy, Bah, Dante; Clauss, Boudaoui (or Rosario), Sanson, Bard; Bouanani, Moffi, Boga (or Jansson)
SL Benfica (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Dedic, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Barrenchea, Rios; Aursnes, Barreiro, Schjelderup; Pavlidis
Read more:
