Toulouse and Lyon kickoff the weekend of football in France at Stadium TFC with a Ligue 1 clash on Friday night.
The two clubs had very differing fortunes in the Coupe de France semi-finals recently, where they could have met in the final.
Match preview
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Toulouse showed no signs of a Coupe de France celebration hangover last weekend, seeing off Montpellier HSC just days after sealing their place in the final of that competition.
Beating Montpellier was a real eye-catching result given they had not lost in seven matches, and it rounded off the perfect week after they defeated Annecy on Thursday to reach a first-ever Coupe de France final.
It also took them to 38 points which means they may only need one or two more points to be absolutely assured of avoiding the drop.
Their current position of being marooned in mid-table looks safe, but Philippe Montanier's side have been rather poor on the league front recently, so they will need to carry some confidence over from a very positive week into this fixture.
Toulouse have not won at home in the league in two months, losing their last three at Stadium TFC.
Their record against Lyon does not provide much encouragement either, as they are winless in their last 13 meetings, losing 11.
Therefore, the hosts may look towards Thijs Dallinga for some inspiration, as the Dutch forward scored his 12th league goal against Montpellier in what has been a fruitful first season in France, especially in 2023.
Toulouse's last six wins have seen Dallinga score on each occasion, so his impact may be crucial here.
While Toulouse enjoyed Coupe de France semi-final success, Lyon fell at the same hurdle, losing to Nantes, but they responded from that disappointment well by beating Rennes 3-1 in Ligue 1.
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That result kept Laurent Blanc's hopes of taking Lyon into Europe alive, in what has been a challenging season for OL.
An unbeaten run now stretching back six games in the league has kept them in touch with the European places, but a Europa Conference League place is the only realistic possibility at this stage.
Alexandre Lacazette has been a huge factor in keeping their season alive, scoring 12 goals in his last 12 appearances.
He was unable to guide them to success in that huge cup semi-final though, which was a very demoralising result, coming during a week of hugely differing emotions, as it came just three days after Lyon won at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain in the league.
Team News
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Brecht Dejaegere went off inside 10 minutes for Toulouse during their win over Montpellier last weekend, making him a doubt for this one.
Dallinga replaced him off the bench and scored, so he is likely to come back into the starting lineup here.
Like Dallinga, Stijn Spierings, Zakaria Aboukhlal and Gabriel Suazo were all rested after playing in their semi-final against Annecy and could return.
Rafael Ratao was a late casualty before the trip to face Montpellier, being replaced by Fares Chaibi, who came in and scored late on again after netting the winner over Annecy.
Teenage right-back Malo Gusto remains out for Lyon as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The impressive Bradley Barcola will be a big miss for Blanc's side as he is suspended here, while Amin Sarr's thigh issue is set to keep him out for the rest of the month.
Dejan Lovren missed his first game since rejoining the club in January against Rennes, and is expected to be out for a few weeks.
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Dupe; Desler, Rouault, Nicolaisen, Suazo; Van den Boomen, Spierings, Aboukhlal, Sierro, Chaibi; Dallinga
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Kumbedi, Diomande, Lukeba, Tagliafico; Tolisso, Lepenant, Caqueret; Cherki, Lacazette, Jeffinho
We say: Toulouse 1-2 Lyon
This is often a high-scoring fixture, with 25 goals being scored across the previous six meetings between the sides, and both teams have regular goalscorers in their ranks.
Lyon have been very strong away from home though, losing just one of their eight on the road in Ligue 1 this calendar year, making them the slight favourites.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Andrew Delaney
