Nantes manager, Antoine Kombouaré, will be banking on forward Moses Simon and his wards to pull off a win over Italian giants Juventus when both sides clash in their UEFA Europa League round of 16 playoffs at the Beaujoire Stadium today.
The French side despite their recent struggles in the league pulled off one of the biggest results of the season holding Juventus to a 1-1 draw last Thursday in Turin in the first leg of their round of 16 qualification playoffs.
Despite their heroics in Turin, the French side are wary of the star studded Italian side who boasts of players such as World Cup winner, Angel Di Maria, Adrien Rabiot, Dušan Vlahović, Federico Chiesa, Leonardo Bonucci, Manuel Locatelli amongst others.
Simon would be hoping to score his first Europa League goal of the campaign after seven games and also end his three-month goals drought. He last scored in Nantes 2-2 draw against Ajaccio in November.
The Nigeria international on his return to the starting line up after missing the last two league games as a result of a knock provided an assist in their 3-1 loss and Kombouaré believes he will provide the club with a different kind of attacking firepower against the Old Lady.
“With Moses, we will have more forces, more possibilities to hurt their defense. When we have attackers in number and especially in quality, it’s really a plus for us,” Kombouaré said during his post match press conference.