The Europa League's biggest underperformers Nice travel to Sweden to face Elfsborg in Boras on Thursday night.
Franck Haise's men are all but eliminated after a dreadful start on the continent, while Elfsborg have an outside chance of making the knockouts against the odds.
Match preview
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While domestic form has been impressive, it is a different story in Europe for Nice, who begin the matchday down in 35th, with only a pointless Dynamo Kyiv below them in the standings.
Very few would have expected the likes of RFS, Ludogorets and upcoming opponents Elfsborg to be above Nice at this stage, but just two points from a possible 18 means progression to the knockout stage now appears impossible.
This is a long-standing problem for Nice too, and precedes this season, because they have won just one of their last 15 Europa League games, with success against Hapoel Be'er Sheva back in 2020 the only result they have to shout about in that time.
Those two solitary points this season came at home too, in draws with Real Sociedad and Twente, with Haise's side losing all three away matches so far, and at home to Rangers in a 4-1 humbling.
With two very winnable games to end the league phase, here at Elfsborg and at home to Bodo/Glimt, even six points is unlikely going to be enough for the Ligue 1 side to overturn their woeful campaign so far.
Since losing at Union SG on matchday six, Nice have been very impressive though, winning four straight games before a narrow defeat at high-flying Lille at the weekend, but that does mean they have now won just two of their last 11 games away to top-flight opponents.
For hosts Elfsborg, the inverse is true, with their European form the only thing that has kept morale high for the past few months.
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Oscar Hiljemark led his side to their worst league finish in five years, as the Allsvenskan ended in early November with Elfsborg down in seventh.
The new season does not start until late March, so the hosts are at a huge disadvantage with no domestic action to complement their European campaign, with their last two competitive games both coming in the Europa League.
That did not affect them against Qarabag on matchday six though, winning 1-0 to move them into the top 24 on seven points, and they could become just the third Swedish club to win three matches in a single Europa League campaign with another here.
It is not pretty on the eye, but it has been effective for Elfsborg, because they have the lowest average possession, the least successful passes, and the lowest pass accuracy of any side in the Europa League so far, but that was enough to also beat Roma earlier in the campaign.
With three defeats from three away from home, Hiljemark will be glad this is on home soil, and taking their tally to 10 points could be enough to see them advance, and they may need it with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur coming next week.
Team News
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Elfsborg have lost their key man Michael Baidoo to Plymouth Argyle during the transfer window, the man responsible for eight goal contributions in Europe so far this season.
Baidoo is unlikely to be the last player to depart either, with a few more players said to be unhappy at Elfsborg and of interest to other clubs.
One player they would like to keep is Ahmed Qasem, who has scored three goals in Europe this season, one of which was the winner against Qarabag last time out.
Nice are set to be without midfielder Pablo Rosario after he was forced off inside 15 minutes against Lille at the weekend, joining Morgan Sanson on the sidelines, with the former Aston Villa man suffering from an ankle issue.
There are key absentees all over the pitch for Nice, with Moise Bombito a doubt in defence, while attacking duo Jeremie Boga and Terem Moffi are both out at the moment with more serious setbacks.
Goalkeeper Marcin Bulka is available though, and the defeat at Union SG may have been much uglier was it not for him, as the Pole made 10 saves against the Belgians, keeping the score down to 2-1.
Elfsborg possible starting lineup:
Petterson; Buhari, Holmen, Yegbe, Hult; Hedlund, B Zeneli, Ouma, Qasem; Holten, A Zeneli
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Clauss, Ndayishimiye, Dante, Abdi; Boudaoui, Ndombele, Bouanani; Cho, Guessand, Laborde
We say: Elfsborg 1-1 Nice
Nice have lost both of their previous games away in Sweden, and Elfsborg lost 5-3 on aggregate to Strasbourg in their only prior meeting with a club from France almost five decades ago, and neither are in the best shape to improve on those records.
Elfsborg have been tricky to play against here though, taking seven points from their three home games, and while Nice are much stronger on paper, they may already be checked out with progression to the knockouts almost impossible from this position.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
