Strasbourg stretched by three-front push before 41st match at Nantes | OneFootball

Strasbourg visit Nantes on Sunday for their 41st game of the season at 20:45, feeling the strain of a packed calendar.

L'Équipe notes they are the only French side still fighting on three fronts. Conference League form is strong, seven wins and three draws, but the league return is one win, four draws and two defeats in the last seven.

Head coach Gary O'Neil briefly lost his voice after Thursday's 1-1 with HNK Rijeka, after a 2-1 first leg, due to a cold. He has recovered, and it does not add to the club's concerns.

Aaron Anselmino, Benjamin Chilwell, Emmanuel Emegha and Diego Moreira remain out, and expensive summer recruits have underwhelmed, including Mathis Amougou, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw and Rafael Luis. The attack has managed only three goals in the last four matches.

The target is to stretch the run to two finals, the Coupe de France semi with Nice on 22 April and Conference League quarters with Mainz on nine and 16 April. That stays possible if rotation is handled precisely.

O'Neil says picking the right team, helping recovery and preparing mentally to face a survival-minded Nantes is a major task.

Already at 40 matches, Strasbourg could play 15 more by season's end, a serious load for a young group. The international break offers little rest, with first call-ups for Ivorian Martial Godo and Moroccan Samir el-Mourabet. Joaquin Panichelli, initially left out by Lionel Scaloni unlike Valentin Barco, was added on Friday, and they hope not to pay for it in May.

Source: L'Équipe