The Ligue 1 season kicks off for Toulouse and Saint-Etienne on Sunday when they face off at Stadium Municipal.
Les Pitchouns narrowly avoided relegation last season as they finished in 17th place just outside the bottom three, while Les Verts clinched a place in the Europa League by placing in fifth, but both teams will be determined to improve in the new campaign.
Toulouse
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Toulouse got off to a losing start last term with a 3-2 defeat to Nice on the opening day of the season, but they responded with a victory over Lyon and began to pick up points in the opening months of the campaign.
However, from October onwards they began to lose with regularity, dragging them into a relegation battle. Manager Alain Casanova paid the price for their poor form when he was sacked in March, ending his seven-year tenure at the club.
Dominique Arribage was appointed to replace Casanova and managed to pick up four victories to steer the team to safety in Ligue 1, although they ended the season with back-to-back defeats.
Toulouse lost defender Serge Aurier to Paris Saint-Germain as he completed his permanent switch to the champions after spending last season on loan at the club, while Les Pitchouns only added keeper Mauro Goicoechea to bolster their ranks.
Arribage's side had been in decent form in pre-season as they were unbeaten in four matches until they were hammered 5-0 by Augsburg last week, although they had previously recorded wins over Ajaccio and Nimes.
The club look to have an uphill struggle to beat the drop this season, but they could get their fight off to the perfect start with a victory on Sunday.
Recent form: LWWDWL
Saint-Etienne
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Christophe Galtier's men will be determined to push on from their excellent 2014-15 campaign, which got off to the perfect start with back-to-back victories over Guingamp and Reims.
A 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain did not deter their push up the table as Galtier's men put together a 12-match unbeaten run that included seven victories to move them into contention for a Champions League place.
Their charge was blunted by a poor run of form between January and February, but they managed to rally to end the season on a high note to place in fifth and earn their spot in the Europa League.
However, Saint-Etienne's success did not go unnoticed as several of their key players from last season have left the club over the course of the summer. Strikers Mevlut Erding and Max Gradel left for Hannover and Bournemouth respectively, while defender Franck Tabanou joined Swansea City.
The club signed Kevin Theophile-Catherine from Cardiff City along with forward Nolan Roux and Vincent Pajot, while they also moved to sign Benoit Assou-Ekotto to replace Tabanou at the back.
Saint-Etienne have been in decent form over the summer, losing just one of their pre-season matches to Nantes, while they recorded a victory over Ajax.
The club have progressed to the next round of the Europa League following their 4-2 aggregate win over Targu Mures, although they did lose the second leg 2-1 at home during the week.
Les Verts will enter the season full of confidence following their victory, and they will be eyeing a strong start to repeat their impressive performance of the last campaign.
Recent form: DLDWWL
Team News
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Toulouse will be without the suspended Yann Bodiger for the clash, while Abel Aguilar and Dusan Veskovac are out due to injuries.
Oscar Trejo sustained an ankle problem in his side's 5-0 defeat to Ausburg last week and is a doubt for the match, but keeper Goicoechea is expected to make his league debut for Arribage's men.
Ben Yedder and Martin Braithwaite are expected to lead the line for the home side, although Aleksandar Pesic could also push for the start.
Assou-Ekotto and Roux are likely to make their debuts for Galtier's men, coming into the side at left-back and up front respectively to replace Tabanou and Erding.
Renaud Cohade is out with a long-term knee injury, while Vincent Pajot may also miss the fixture as he is struggling with a hamstring problem.
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Goicoechea; Tisserand, Spajic, Kana-Biyak, Matheus; Doumbia, Didot, Akpa-Akpro; Yedder, Pesic, Braithwaite
Saint=Etienne possible starting lineup:
Ruffier; Theophile-Catherine, Sall, Perrin, Assou-Ekotto, Diomande, Clement, Hamouma, Lemoine, Monnet-Pacquet, Roux
Head To Head
The last match between the sides ended in a 1-1 draw as Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro struck late on to cancel out Gradel's opener at Stadium Municipal.
Toulouse recorded a 1-0 victory over Galtier's men earlier in the season as Yedder's strike proved to be decisive at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Over the course of history, Toulouse have shaded the contests, recording eight victories compared to Saint-Etienne's seven, while nine of the matches have ended in draws.
We say: Toulouse 0-1 Saint-Etienne
Saint-Etienne have already been in competitive action this season so they will be up to speed and that could well prove to be the difference between the sides. Toulouse may just lack the quality to compete with the talent Galtier has at his disposal.
Simon Sinclair
