MHSC – Angers: “This is a turning point, if we still want to have hope of survival, we have to win on Sunday,” hopes Jean-Louis Gasset

Kiki Kouyaté returns to the squad after several weeks of absence. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

For this very important match in view of the maintenance against Angers, Sunday at 5:15 p.m. at La Mosson, coach Jean-Louis Gasset recovers three major players.

The squad: return from injuries for Kouyaté and Nordin, from suspension for Chotard

The infirmary continues to empty at MHSC and we can say that it is a good thing since Montpellier will host a direct opponent for survival, Angers, on Sunday January 12, at 5:15 p.m., at La Mosson. If Montpellier will no longer be able to count on Nikola Maksimovic, who underwent surgery for a hamstring detachment, to whom coach Jean-Louis Gasset paid tribute, “I want to give him a big thumbs up for coming with us, in the conditions in which he came. He is a great pro and a great man”, he can once again rely on Kiki Kouyaté who was injured in the knee and whose last appearance was in September.

A central defender is injured and another is back, this should nevertheless imply that Becir Omeragic lined up in midfield in Lyon (1-0) will move down a notch since the Malian should not start the match. Nor will Arnaud Nordin who is recovering from a sprained ankle but Joris Chotard, who is returning from suspension, should regain his place as a sentinel in a starting eleven surely identical to the one starting in Lyon.

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Othmane Maamma and Lucas Mincarelli trotted yesterday and are not yet ready.

Angers, a pivotal match

The importance of the match against Angers (15th), a direct competitor for survival and seven points ahead of Montpellier, did not escape Jean-Louis Gasset even if he refuses to call it a final. “A final is the last match when you play the Cup final. If you win, you take the trophy. This is the last first leg. But for us, in our objective of saying that we have to beat the teams that are in our five-team mini-championship, this is the first stone in the building that will have to be laid in 2025. I have the impression that we are ready to face a match like the one on Sunday.”

The MHSC coach even mentions “a turning point. If we still want to have hope of survival, we have to beat Angers on Sunday, finish the first leg with 12 points, which is not much, and tell ourselves that we will have to play a practically European semi-championship by winning one match out of two. But it is possible”.

Turn on success

Goal disallowed after VAR, another against his camp in stoppage time, penalties whistled and then disallowed, all the signs seem to be against Montpellier this season. “It will pass, it will come. We have to keep going. Everyone is working very well. We are benefiting from what we did during the break where we caught up a little. I told you, we are better physically. It was obvious. On the other hand, the lack of success, the bad luck, everything that a team at the bottom of the table experiences for a certain period. We must continue not to lower our heads, stay united, above all.”

He is convinced that the work will end up paying off. “The players are putting in a lot of willpower. And we hope that it will turn out because frankly, frankly, we deserve it. There were times when we weren't ready. But now, I feel like we're ready to face a match like the one on Sunday.”