Champions League Preview: Nice look to overturn first leg deficit in Lisbon

OGC Nice will have their work cut out for them in tomorrow's second leg of Champions League qualifying -- get all the latest including likely elevens, press quotes and more ahead of the match in Lisbon.

Nice under the cosh

In a first leg in which they were already short-handed owing to the absence of several defenders, Nice lost captain Dante to injury, as well as Morgan Sanson. Despite this, they (just about) kept themselves in the tie by only losing 2-0, even if Yehvann Diouf had to make several strong saves to keep Les Aiglons in touching distance. Now they head to Benfica knowing that they'll need to get on the scoresheet quickly to hope to keep a foothold in the tie.

But with neither Dante or Sanson fit for this encounter, things will hardly be easy for Frank Haise's side, with Kojo Oppong expected to replace Dante and Tom Louchet expected to replace Sanson. Haise also acknowledged that not only injuries, but departures (Evann Guessand, Marcin Bulka, Gaëtan Laborde) and few arrivals have weakened his hand, saying, "Like any coach, I would have preferred us to recruit, and so would the players. I would have preferred to have had fewer injuries too. Work continues on recruitment. We'll see how we can move forward. I took the top 11 of the players who had played the most last season, well we only have three players left out of those eleven for the return leg: Melvin Bard, Hicham Boudaoui and Jonathan Clauss. Something is being rebuilt." Given Haise's considerable acumen, that rebuilding may come off over the course of the season, but for the moment, it looks a tall order.

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Lisbonne. 🫡🇵🇹#slbogcn pic.twitter.com/Uu1cR67ekP
— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) August 11, 2025

Benfica look for home boost

As for the Portuguese side, they'll be eager to take confidence from what is sure to be a boiling atmosphere at the Estadio de Luz. Said left back Samuel Dahl, "It will be fantastic. Whenever we play at home, it's incredible when the fans cheer us on. Tomorrow [Tuesday] we need that, and we hope to give them an enjoyable evening,"

As for their eleven, Bruno Lage is likely to deploy the same eleven that picked up the win at the Allianz Riviera, with Franjo Ivanovic leading the line and former Marseille defender Amar Dedic in at right back.

Likely XIs:

SL Benfica (4-4-2): Trubin; Dedic, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Aursnes, Rios, Barrenechea, Schjelderup; Ivanovic, Pavlidis

OGC Nice (3-4-3): Diouf; Mendy, Bah, Oppong; Clauss, Louchet, Boudaoui, Bard; Bouanani, Moffi, Jonsson (or Boga)

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Header photo: OGC Nice