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Nancy changed coach

Clermont without their usual three defenders, including the important Avinel

Nancy are about to play against Clermont with a new coach on the bench. Club president Rousselot gave the angry supporters what they wanted and brought back the legendary Palo Correa who led the club successfully from 2002 to 2011. When he first took over he saved them from relegation and now he is expected to miraculously take them to the top.

- They are two stories that have nothing in common. Times were more modest in 2002. We are now at a time of rise and fall and my job is to make sure that we grow as much as we can - said the Uruguayan.

His predecessor Gabriel motivated the team in the last season's fight to stay in the league. They fought until the end and had to say goodbye to the elite level of competition, but they did it with honor. He didn't do the best job when he needed to build the team from scratch. Correa will do that important job as time goes:

- First of all, we need to stabilize our four defensive players. We also need more options in the midfield. My idea is to play a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1 formation.

He will have his debut without his two standard first team players, the midfielder Karaboue and forward Jeannot but he also gets a quality comeback in the form of Grange who got injured back in August. Muratori is also back in defense. He will also have something Gabriel lost: support from the stands.

Clermont broke their five draw streak against a weakened Istres. They were dominant from the beginning but scored after an hour of play from a set piece. Their offense cannot get their form back since August, even though they seem to be dangerous at times.

Their defense will have a big test today as they lost three standard players. Avinel is banned for the match and he is a key player in their defense. They missed him a lot in the only game he didn't play for them against Caena. Players Lippini and Da Silva will be easier to replace.

Forward Dembele played for Mali in Korea on Tuesday and he was expected to take a break, however, he is on the list for this game. The question is how ready he is going to be for this match.

There is no question that Nancy are a much better team, even when Clermont's line-up is complete. They've ruined the first two months of the season by different blunders, lack of concentration, panic and so on. Now they have a new coach, a renowned expert, and I believe that everybody will be completely focused. If they manage to avoid mistakes and have discipline in their play, they can defeat even stronger opponents than Clermont. One goal will probably be enough and that will be even easier to achieve given the absences within the defense line of the away team.