Nicolas Pépé has been out for a month, but the Arsenal-owned winger hasn't been missed by OGC Nice ahead of their game against Stade de Reims with Bilal Brahimi emerging as a bona fide star.
- Kick-off: 16:00 GMT
Pépé joined Nice on loan from Premier League leaders Arsenal at the start of the season, and has impressed with his six goals and one assist from his 16 Ligue 1 Uber Eats outings.
But he picked up a knee injury after January's goalless draw at Reims, and in the time between that game and Saturday's reverse fixture, Brahimi has seized his chance, scoring three times in four games, all of which have been wins.
Nice run of wins
Les Aiglons have been resurgent since Didier Digard replaced Lucien Favre as head coach - initially on an interim basis - and are up to seventh with just four points to make up on LOSC, who occupy the fifth and final European place.
"I don't have any particular comments about him," Digard said of Brahimi, trying to keep hype to a minimum after his brace against AC Ajaccio last Friday. "I trust him because he deserves it and he listens.
Watch: Highlights of Nice's 3-0 win over Ajaccio
"He generally hasn't been rewarded for his efforts with goals, but that's starting to change. We just told him what we saw in him."
As well as Pépé, Nice are without marauding right-back Youcef Atal due to a thigh injury, while reserve goalkeeper Marcin Bulka has a shoulder complaint - although Kasper Schmeichel's recent form renders that latter point moot.
Champagne football
Reims make the journey across France to the Allianz Riviera in 10th, three place and five points behind their hosts.
The Champagne club are undefeated in 13 Ligue 1 Uber Eats games since appointing Will Still as coach, and they enjoyed their biggest win yet under the English-Belgian on Sunday, beating ESTAC Troyes 4-0.
Watch: Highlights of Reims' 4-0 win over Troyes
Another Arsenal-owned in Folarin Balogun man took his goal tally to 15 in that game, moving outright top of the scoring charts with one more than Jonathan David, Alexandre Laczette and Wissam Ben Yedder, but Still has confidence in all of his players.
Still: no season target
"We have a very good team," he said after the Troyes game. "We want the players to understand that if they play high withy intensity and energy they can recover high an create danger.
"We made the match easy because we were effective in front of goal. It proves that we're progressing. We haven't set a specific goal. If we gain a few more places, it'll only be a bonus."
Mitchell van Bergen has a knock but with Noah Holm fast recovering from a knee injury, Reims are close to a clean bill of health.
Possible teams
Nice: Schmeichel; Lotomba, Todibo, Dante, Bard; Ramsey, Badaoui, Thuram; Laborde, Moffi, Brahimi
Reims: Diouf; Foket, Agbadou, Abdelhamid, De Smet; Munetsi, Matusiwa; Ito, Maolida, Flips; Balogun
