The Fort Worth Press - Ineos-owned Nice in disarray before French Cup final against Lens

"Lens are favourites and this will practically be a home game for them. They are almost obliged to win," said Nice coach Claude Puel, summing up how most observers imagine the outcome of the match at the Stade de France.

It has already been a fine season for Lens, who finished second to all-conquering Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, falling not far short of a first French title since 1998.

Now they are hoping to win the French Cup for the first time in their history, having lost all three previous final appearances -- the last of those also came in 1998.

Nice, in contrast, have endured a dreadful season and ended the Ligue 1 campaign in the relegation play-off place after winning just two of their last 24 games.

Suddenly the prospect of a first piece of silverware since they last won the French Cup in 1997 is completely overshadowed by what will follow Friday's showpiece -- they must win a two-legged play-off next week against Saint-Etienne in order to remain in Ligue 1.

Nobody gives them a chance against Lens, but history could repeat itself here: as well as the year of their last Cup win, 1997 was also the last year they were relegated.

"It is still a final, so of course we will give our all. But the two matches that come after are more important. We want to stay in Ligue 1. That is our only ambition," admitted Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere.

Last week's 0-0 draw with relegated bottom club Metz ended with angry fans invading the pitch, throwing smoke bombs and forcing players to run to the dressing room for cover.

Ineos had big ambitions when the company of British entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe bought the Cote d'Azur club in 2019.

They have had three top-five finishes since then, and lost the French Cup final in 2022.

Last year they came fourth to qualify for the Champions League preliminary rounds, but they barely laid a glove on Benfica last August and failed to make the league phase of Europe's elite club competition.

- Supporter unrest -

The season quickly went south, and in November players, staff, and management had a run-in with hundreds of fans gathered outside the training centre to express anger at the Nice squad as it returned from a match.

Coach Franck Haise left in December, to be replaced by Puel. He has been unable to arrest the slide, not helped by the January departures of two leading forwards -- Jeremie Boga and Terem Moffi, scarred by that run-in with supporters, departed for Juventus and Porto respectively.

The focus of Ratcliffe, who also has a 25 percent stake in Manchester United, now lies elsewhere.

Nice have been ordered to play the home leg of the Saint-Etienne tie behind closed doors as a punishment following the pitch invasion, and many fans are also expected to stay away from Friday's final.

Authorities, meanwhile, are anticipating up to 50,000 Lens supporters will be inside the 80,000-seat Stade de France.

Lens, led by attacker Florian Thauvin who just missed out on France's World Cup squad, will be determined to win the trophy that has eluded them for so long.

That would complete a superb campaign which has already seen them qualify for next season's Champions League.

"We are the only club to have been French champions that has never won the French Cup," coach Pierre Sage told sports daily L'Equipe.

"This club is 120 years old and deserves to win it. We have a generation of players that have had a superb season and would also deserve it. So I think it is the year for us to do it."

Sage took Lyon to the final in 2024, when they lost to PSG. The Parisians' dominance of French football is crushing, but whoever triumphs on Friday will be the fifth different winner of the competition in eight seasons.

M.T.Smith--TFWP